AccorHotels, which includes the Pullman, Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis chains, intends to “reduce food waste by 30%, in particular by sourcing food locally”, chief executive Sebastien Bazin said on Tuesday.
The French group, which generates 25-30% of its revenue by serving 150 million meals a year, will first work out how much food it is wasting.
Its restaurants will be required to weigh and record food that is thrown away in order to best determine how to cut waste.
With up to one third of food produced being wasted, according to estimates by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, there is ample room for businesses to save money while also helping reduce hunger and greenhouse gas emissions associated with farming and transport.
Amir Nahai, who leads Accor’s food operations, said that menus currently offering up to 40 main courses would be slimmed down.
The group intends to plant vegetable gardens in many of its 3,900 hotels.
“We are also going to support urban agriculture with the creation of 1,000 vegetable gardens in our hotels by 2020,” said Nahai.
In its previous five-year environmental plan, AccorHotels said it cut water consumption by nearly 9%, energy consumption by 5.3% and carbon emissions by 6.2%.
