So Far, So Close
Food is Not to Be Wasted
Not everything you’re taught as a child is easy to learn — or stays with you forever. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have reached 2023 facing a heightened issue of food waste, a problem with both environmental and social impacts.Without trivialising a reality that concerns us all — like so many things around us that can be changed — it’s true that we’ve entered the 21st century with a burden that is, frankly, nonsensical. Especially when 735 million people suffer from hunger worldwide — that’s 122 million more than in 2019. These figures give tangible weight to that famous phrase from our mothers: “Think of all the starving children, and you’re leaving food on your plate.”
Food waste is a major social issue. The amount of food wasted globally each year could feed the entire world population until 2050 — and feed the millions who go hungry every day seven times over. But beyond that, it’s also an environmental disaster: this surplus generates 10% of global CO₂ emissions — nearly double the emissions produced by all the cars in the US and Europe combined in a year.
It’s as tragic as it is absurd — and as hard to solve as it is easy to ignore. So much so, that food waste has been established as Target 3 within Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
What are we doing at ILUNION Hotels to help tackle this?
To begin with, we’ve adopted a Food Waste Policy. We’re fully aware that in the hotel sector, the most common causes of food waste often stem from issues such as poor planning, purchasing errors, handling mistakes, improper storage, and the behaviour of both staff and guests. That’s why our strategy focuses on analysing and optimising all processes — through prevention and smart management — to save as much food as possible.