Accorhotels properties in the UK and Ireland have partnered with Too Good To Go, an online marketplace for surplus food, in a bid to reduce food waste by 30 per cent by 2020.
A total of 25 hotels have signed up to the platform since January in cities such as London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Edinburgh.
The move follows a partnership between Accorhotels and Too Good To Go in other European countries since 2016, which has so far saved more than 32,000 meals from going to waste across 208 properties – equivalent to 65 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The free Too Good To Go app allows restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other food retailers to sell excess meals and food to local consumers. Customers who use the app can find a list of participating outlets, which is GPS-enabled to help them find the closest sellers first. They can purchase the meal at a reduced price and are given a collection window in which to retrieve the food.
Accorhotels’ Planet21 programme has set out a five-year programme that includes reducing food waste and the introduction of 1,000 urban vegetable gardens in the group’s properties. The group has also committed to discontinue using plastic straws in its managed UK hotels by 1 June and will work with franchise partners to do the same at other properties.
Shane Munro, VP of food and beverage at Accorhotels UK & Ireland, said: “Reducing food waste is one of the key focuses of our Planet21 sustainable development programme, and this partnership is a great way of contributing to this. It helps us to use surplus food from our restaurants in a productive way that helps people, minimises food waste and allows us to increase our connection with the local communities that we work in. As we integrate more of our hotels and more consumers get to know about the service it will have a bigger and bigger impact.”
Jamie Crummie, co-found of Too Good To Go, added: “Accorhotels is the first hotel group to partner with us in the UK and we are excited about the difference we can make to food waste in the hospitality industry. Our platform not only reduces the food waste and carbon footprint of the businesses we partner with – it also engages consumers in the fight against food waste and encourages them to make changes in other areas of their lives.”
accorhotels.com; toogoodtogo.co.uk