FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
ISS Facility Services in the US has unveiled a programme to reduce all food waste produced in facilities where it provides food management services across the country by 50 per cent.
The company intends to accomplish this goal by 2024, which would make it the first major US food services company to do so.
The initiative is in line with the ISS Group ambitions and strategy for Net Zero Emissions. Furthermore, it supports the mission to help clients minimise their impact on the environment by reducing the use of energy and water, decreasing carbon emissions, and cutting production of waste, including food. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, globally, one-third of all food is wasted and food waste accounts for approximately eight per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
To meet its target, the company has partnered with Winnow, a developer of artificial intelligence tools and smart kitchen technology, to equip more than 200 kitchens in ISS’s purview with food waste technology across the US. Through a combination of hardware and software, food waste data is captured in the kitchen and fed back to teams with actionable insights that enable the kitchens to make better inventory decisions. ISS Group has piloted Winnow in sites across Europe and Australia since 2019. By 2020, they saved over 38 tons of food, the equivalent of saving 84,964 meals from being thrown away.
Paul Fairhead, CEO of ISS Guckenheimer, the company’s Food Services brand commented: “We see this program as beneficial not only to our clients and employees but also to our shared communities and the environment. We are committed to using leading-edge technology solutions to generate real world value – which in this case has culminated in a more efficient, environmentally sustainable approach to food management.”
Winnow CEO and Co-Founder Marc Zornes added: “As the industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, we are seeing a very strong focus on food waste. It is a foundational part of any company’s net zero goals and helps to ensure kitchens are running to their optimum efficiency. ISS Guckenheimer is leading the industry by example. It is a privilege to work with such a forward-thinking company and help them further improve their responsible processes in their food and beverages offer and positively influence the US market.”
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