The hotel company has avoided the waste of 30 tonnes of food thanks to its alliance with Too Good To Go, avoiding the emission of 81 tonnes of CO2e.
The alliance between the two companies began in November 2019 and is already active in 25% of Meliá's hotel portfolio in Spain.
The hotels offer daily surprise packs through the Too Good To Go app with a variety of surplus products from their breakfast buffet.
The Meliá Hotels International hotel group, as part of its determination to develop policies committed to sustainability and the environment, continues to confront food waste in its hotels. In addition to adopting measures to reduce waste in its properties, through its collaboration with the Too Good To Go app, the leading mobile application in the fight against food waste, the hotel group has just reached the figure of 30,000 food packs saved, which represents more than 30 tonnes of food.
This positive milestone means that all these food resources have been put to good use, avoiding waste and the emission of 81 tonnes of CO2eq into the atmosphere*.
The alliance between the two companies began in November 2019 with a pilot phase in hotels in Barcelona, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Seville, the Canary Islands and Malaga. After the good results obtained, the collaboration has been extended and this initiative is currently implemented in 25% of Meliá's portfolio in Spain, with the aim of continuing to add more hotels.
Thanks to this initiative, users have the opportunity to save surprise packs through the Too Good To Go app with a wide variety of products from the daily breakfast buffets at Meliá hotels.
As part of its sustainability strategy, Travel for Good, the hotel company has launched various initiatives to promote a responsible supply chain and contribute to the reduction of food waste. These include, among others, the adoption of new demand control technologies to adjust production to the real volume of hotel occupancy, the unification of production kitchens, employee training and customer awareness, as well as the collaboration with Too Good to Go.
For Gabriel Escarrer, Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, “At Meliá, we are committed to a circular and proximity hotel model, essential to reduce waste and minimise our environmental footprint, where reducing food waste is fundamental in our industry. In addition, we focus on raising awareness among our guests about responsible consumption, preventing food waste, adopting healthy habits and promoting local culture through a quality gastronomic offer".
According to Marie Lindström, general manager of Too Good To Go in Spain, “all actors involved in society must join forces in the fight against food waste, as it is a problem that affects us all. We must not forget that in Spain alone almost 8 million tonnes of food end up in the rubbish bin every year and food waste is responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The commitment and action of big brands like Meliá is a great sign that the sector is increasingly involved in achieving a greener planet free of food waste."
*Data corresponding to the 'Index Life Cycle' of foods saved through the Too Good To Go app conducted independently by Merieux Nutrisciences | Blonk and validated by experts from Oxford University and WRAP.
