Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts recognizes the significant role that the hospitality industry plays in reducing food waste. Through partnerships with food waste experts, a formalized food and beverage (F&B) program was developed to drive sustainability across its global F&B operations to address three primary areas:

- Cutting food waste by at least half by 2030, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12
- Sourcing responsibly to minimize their environmental footprint and maximize their social impact
- Engaging with their guests, suppliers and policymakers to advance sustainable food systems

Training

Education and training are necessary to achieve the ambitious food waste reduction targets at Four Seasons. All F&B leaders are required to complete training in food waste reduction techniques, and in 2022, more than 1,600 team members completed this training.

Technology

Testing and implementation of new technology and tools is another key focus. In 2022, Four Seasons piloted several technology solutions that can track, measure and reduce food waste. Through partnership with commercial food waste companies including Winnow, Lumitics and Kitro, the number of managed hotel and resort kitchens using these solutions continues to grow. By 2025, Four Seasons intends to expand the adoption of these food waste reduction solutions across its global portfolio.

Local Partnerships

Four Seasons also requires all properties to establish locally compliant food donation partnerships to divert food waste from landfill. For instance, at Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, organic waste from the property’s restaurants is processed into compost that feeds the soil in gardens near Versailles, France – i In turn, growing the fruits and vegetables served at the hotel’s restaurant Le George.

Four Seasons 2021 Environmental, Social And Governance (Esg) Summary Report

Four Seasons 2022 Environmental, Social And Governance (Esg) Summary ReportT

Grand Hyatt is working towards a 2030 goal to reduce food waste per square meter by 50% compared to 2019 across their managed hotels. Food waste prevention is the most impactful step, and Hyatt is working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) to contribute to the creation of training materials for the industry, available at HotelKitchen.org.

In addition, Grand Hyatt Singapore has committed to The PLEDGE Food Waste Certification in 2021. The hotel was the first hotel to partner with Treatsure, a start-up that allows users to purchase surplus food from restaurants directly. They work with a non-profitable organisations to contribute excess food which is certified safe to communities in need.

Grand Hyatt also uses the Nordaq Water which saves 500g of CO2, 1 litres of unrenewable fossil fuels and 7 litres of water for every water bottle replaced in the restaurants. By utilising a filter system, impurities are removed from tap water and converted into fresh still and sparkling water with the system.

The hotel has also partnered with Biomax Technologies in 2016 to install an in-house waste management plant consisting of a vacuum system, a grinder and dewatering unit, and a digester system to convert 1000kg of daily food waste from the hotel’s 5 restaurants, 16 event venues and 677 rooms to 300kg of organic pathogen-free fertilisers within 24 hours. This has allowed the hotel to keep food waste off landfills, eliminate the use of 55,000 thrash bags and save over S$2,100,000 per year on waste haulage.

Resources: Biomax Installs Food Waste Management and Recycling Machine at Grand Hyatt Singapore (asiatraveltips.com) Waste and Circularity | Hyatt World of CareSustainability | Hotels in Singapore | Grand Hyatt Singapore Singapore Hotel Association - Grand-Hyatt Singapore - Sustainability & Innovation Deck.pdf - All Documents (sharepoint.com) Waste and Circularity | Hyatt World of Care

Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel the Stamford have launched the industry’s first urban Aquaponics Garden in 2019 in efforts to meet the rising demand among guests for fresh quality produce and to support Singapore’s goal of producing 30% of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel the Stamford were the Winner in the Climate Action Category for the Annual HICAP Sustainable Hotel Awards in 2020.

The Aquaponics farm is a combination of aquaculture – growing of fish and other aquatic life with hydroponics, which is growing plants without soil. The Aquaponics Garden Converted was converted from a site that used to house the hotels' herb and vegetable garden back in 2009. The fish and vegetables now grow together in an integrated system where fish waste is converted to nitrates, that in turns fertilises the vegetables; while the latter filter and clean the water for the fish

This initiative has resulted in having a 100% fresh, pesticides-free produce that greatly reduces the supply chain’s carbon footprint: offering sustainable sourcing and dining in a mere 20 minutes. The Aquaponics Garden has greatly helped to reduce the supply chain’s carbon footprint and has reduced the carbon emissions by 90%. The hotels also managed to reduce the usage of water by 90% as every 300kg of vegetables produced requires only 4,500 litres of water instead of 90,000 litres of water used in traditional soil farming. Other than that, the hotel has also saved 96% in electricity usage. The Aquaponics system uses 4KW of electricity as compared to 100KW of electricity for traditional farming.

On top of that, the hotels leveraged AI technology to combat food waste challenges. Both the hotels used AI trackers from Lumitics, a food waste tracker that monitors all food waste in the kitchen, to cut avoidable food waste in their restaurants. Insights from the Lumitics’ food waste management solution provided detailed information and analysis on the sources and quantities of food waste generated by the various kitchens within their complex. With these insights, the hotels then worked on optimising their production, preserving yield rates, smarter purchasing of ingredients and better menu engineering to avoid further food wastage.

The hotels have also partnered with Treatsure, Singapore's first mobile reservation platform connecting businesses & hotels with surplus food to everyday consumers, helps to further minimize food wastage in buffet restaurants by offering guests a buffet-in-a-box takeaway option on selected days and times. They donate their food surpluses (pastries and breads) to Food from The Heart and any unconsumed food from events to Food Bank and various charities.

M Hotel’s meeting packages, ‘Feel Good’ showcases the hotel’s sustainable practices and healthy rendition of desserts and bites, refining the typical meeting set-up and regular coffee break to one that evokes a good feeling of going green.

M Hotel’s go-green meeting set-up include going paperless by using gadget ports, digital flip charts and eliminating single-use plastic through the replacement of plastic water bottles with glass bottles. Fewer utensils are offered, and guests are encouraged to bring your own coffee mugs and lunch boxes.

Only natural and raw materials are used for thematic set up, and a 100% plant-based, egg-free, and dairy-free menu featuring the hotel’s Aloe Vera is offered. M Hotel’s green corridor is located at Level 9, where their Aloe Vera is grown and nurtured by using the coffee compost from the restaurants.

With the introduction of edible cutleries and reduced use of utensils, less water and chemicals are consumed in washing, usage of dishwasher for utensils. Additionally, M Hotel’s sustainable 100% plant-based menu helps to reduce carbon footprint by supporting in-house farms through use of locally-sourced produce.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (“M&C”) is committed to operating its hotels in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner while making a positive impact on the communities where its properties are located. At their properties in Singapore, they have started to make it compulsory for the employees who consume food within the hotel premises to segregate their food waste from general waste. Bins are provided in canteens and kitchen to collect both table and kitchen food waste and signs are put up for employees to follow.

This initiative is aligned to Singapore’s environment laws, as food waste segregation for treatment and reporting will be mandatory for hotels with F&B and function areas larger than 3000sqm, where considerable amounts of food waste is generated, under the Resource Sustainability Act from 2024 onwards.

In addition, it is more hygienic for staffs to handle general waste free of food waste, and it also inculcates sustainable habits in employees as they progress towards a culture of sustainability. The provision of food waste digestor has reduced the amount of general waste disposed by more than 217 tonnes per year across the six hotels.