Indonesia is one of the biggest contributors to food waste in the world. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the largest portion of waste (30,8% in 2020) is food waste. Food waste ending up in landfills is highly problematic because it emits methane which is not only an extremely harmful greenhouse gas but also highly inflammable. During hot weather and dry seasons, this methane can cause fires in landfills having a devastating impact on local communities and the environment as seen in Bali and Jakarta in 2023.
The hospitality industry contributes significantly to food waste, particularly in tourist areas like Bali. This impacts both the health of the tourism destination and the industries’ finances. Scalable solutions are needed to tackle food waste at source to avoid negative environmental impacts and offer tangible financial benefits.
The Hyatt Hotels Corporation made a strong move towards cutting food waste as part of their sustainability commitment – ‘World of Care’. While almost all Hyatt properties in Indonesia implemented a food waste monitoring technology to measure and manage their food waste, four distinguished Hyatt hotels – Andaz Bali, Hyatt Regency Bali, Alila Seminyak Bali, and Grand Hyatt Bali – went the extra mile and had their main restaurants formally certified by The PLEDGE on Food Waste for their outstanding accomplishments in food waste prevention. Through a meticulous third-party audit, they demonstrated unwavering dedication to align with the 95 criteria and all restaurants have achieved an outstanding score.
The Village Square by Andaz Bali leads with an impressive 96% compliance. Omang Omang by Hyatt Regency Bali, The Seasalt by Alila Seminyak Bali, and Garden Café by Grand Hyatt Bali have secured an admirable 94%, all equivalent to Gold Level certification by The PLEDGE on Food Waste, making them the first in Indonesia to be certified.
This collective effort saved 98,621 kilograms of food, equivalent to 197,242 meals and 246,553 kilograms of CO2 emissions not emitted, helping the hotels further align with Hyatt World of Care’s ambitious sustainable goals while simultaneously saving a commendable $340,815. This proves the economic viability of sustainable initiatives.
Benjamin Haselbeck, Cluster Executive Chef at Andaz Bali & Hyatt Regency Bali: “The PLEDGE certification: A journey of awareness and learning for me and my team. Embracing a holistic approach empowered us to reduce food waste creatively. An intense journey, undeniably worth every step.”
Benjamin Lephilibert, Co-founder of The PLEDGE on Food Waste: “We are honoured to see Hyatt paving the way in Indonesia on the critical issue of food waste. 11 years of expertise in food waste prevention is encapsulated in this project, combining practical capacity building, technology, data analysis, personalised consulting, and third-party certification. As we adhere to UN Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12, 13, and 17 and strive to achieve them, Let’s hope this success will inspire many more industry leaders to become “PLEDGERS” too.”
Matteo Bierschneider, Accredited Food Waste Consultant, Wise Steps Consulting: “It’s been a pleasure to engage with the diverse kitchen teams on the ground in multiple training sessions and see their engagement in fighting food waste. I find it always impressive to see how small changes in operations and proper monitoring can lead to instant savings for the hotel or restaurant and reduce food waste significantly within a few months only.”
About The PLEDGE on Food Waste
The PLEDGE on Food Waste is a Singapore-based third-party certification and benchmarking system that allows restaurants, hotels, and cafeterias to reduce food waste, reduce costs, gain recognition, and nurture the local ecosystem of solution providers: www.thepledgeonfoodwaste.org
For more information about FIT Food Intel Tech and The PLEDGE on Food Waste Indonesia please reach out to:
Matteo Bierschneider
Accredited Food Waste Consultant
foodwaste@wisestepsconsulting.id
