According to research 33% of all food produced globally is lost or wasted every year. Just a quarter of the food wasted globally could be used to feed the 795 million undernourished people in the world.

Stop Food Waste Day (24th April) is an initiative started in 2017 in the United States. It aims to educate, inspire, and ignite change – sharing practical, creative and impactful ways to change behaviours and reduce food waste.

Adam Thomason, culinary director at Restaurant Associates, said:  “We ensure all team members undertake climate net zero training modules to enhance their understanding of operational changes and why they are needed.

“Our chef apprenticeship covers food waste reduction, zero waste cooking techniques, seasonality, and local, ethical sourcing. Through educating our team at the beginning, we are able to affect positive change at every turn.”

Restaurant Associates became the first foodservice caterer in 2021 to announce a net zero commitment by 2030, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Through Restaurant Associates’ partnership with food-waste platform Olio, in 2023 the business has:

• Donated 61,134 items of food
• Provided 38,046 meals
• Fed 2,935 households
• Saved 12 million litres of water
• Planted 3,165 trees
• Avoided 68,916 Kgs CO2 emissions

Luxey Dayanandan, head of ESG at Restaurant Associates, added: “We need to take responsibility for the environmental impact our industry has, and that’s what we’re doing by creating green champions and embedding a culture of circularity throughout the business.

“It is an exciting future for Restaurant Associates, and our partnerships with food waste heroes like Olio and FareShare are absolutely vital to our ongoing fight against food waste.”

In partnership with Waste Knot, Restaurant Associates have also saved over 50 tonnes of fruit and veg from going to landfill. In 2024, Restaurant Associates will continue their journey to net zero aiming to reduce their carbon footprint by a further 55%.

In November 2023, Restaurant Associates teamed up with Native – the restaurant venture from Ivan Tisdall-Downes and Imogen Davis – striving towards a zero-waste offer, sourcing produce locally and supporting regenerative agricultural practices.