In response to the demand of today’s well-informed travellers and consumers, hospitality businesses are taking their sustainability pledges more serious than ever. More hospitality businesses are graduating from simple sustainability measures, such as in-room suggestions to reuse towels, to more holistic sustainability plans. In addition to increased awareness among business leaders, innovations are another reason that hospitality businesses are increasingly determined to reach ambitious sustainability goals to meet the urgent challenges facing the industry.
Implementation of sustainability initiatives is not just a response to consumer demands, but also a way to reap financial gains such as reduced operational and utility costs. This financial incentive is especially important for travel and tourism markets like Hong Kong, which suffers as a consequence of political unrest.
Reducing Food Waste and Cost with Innovation
Winnow Solutions is one of the companies leading innovation in the hospitality industry. Utilizing its pioneering technology, Winnow is able to help businesses cut food waste in half and save 3-8% in food cost. As food waste also includes the waste of water, labor, and energy that went into preparing the food, reducing food waste also means improving profits. The company, which was founded in the UK, is now operational across 30 countries and over 100 kitchens globally, including Hong Kong and China.
Winnow Vision, one of Winnow Solutions’ products, works by taking photos of discarded food waste and then extracting information from the photo to identify what it is. Alternatively, Winnow Solutions’ Waste Monitor uses smart weighing meter technology to monitor what food is thrown in the bin. Daily reports are then generated, helping kitchens to identify where over-production is occurring, benchmark and track improvements over time. This innovative solution to the challenge of food waste in kitchens is helping businesses around the world to achieve their CSR goals by enabling them to prevent food waste before it occurs, instead of just dealing with it when it does.
Time for Hospitality Industry to Act
It is estimated that the average consumer staying in a hotel will generate one kilogram of waste per day. Whether it be solid waste, water waste, energy waste or food waste, an increase in waste translates into a greater carbon footprint and, therefore, increased harm to our environment. Food waste, in particular, has come increasingly under the spotlight in recent years, being named the third biggest contributor to climate change. Check out our previous blog posts to read more about the issue of food waste in the hospitality industry.
With the availability of innovative solutions, such as Winnow Solutions, the hospitality industry is now better equipped to tackle food waste head-on.
