Committing to reducing hotel food waste allows luxury island resorts to lower operational overhead while protecting fragile tropical ecosystems from landfill pollution. Indonesia currently ranks as one of the largest contributors to food waste globally. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, organic scraps form the largest portion of national waste. Food waste ending up in local landfills is highly problematic. Specifically, rotting organic materials emit massive amounts of methane gas.
This dangerous greenhouse gas is extremely harmful and highly inflammable. During hot weather and dry seasons, trapped methane frequently causes devastating landfill fires. These environmental disasters severely impact local communities, as seen across Bali and Jakarta recently.
Strategic Impact of Reducing Hotel Food Waste
The commercial hospitality industry contributes significantly to regional food waste streams, particularly in high-density tourist areas like Bali. This structural waste negatively impacts both the health of the destination and corporate resort finances. Therefore, scalable solutions are urgently needed to tackle organic waste directly at the source.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently made a strong move toward reducing hotel food waste through its global ‘World of Care’ program. Almost all Hyatt properties in Indonesia successfully implemented digital food waste monitoring technology. However, four distinguished luxury resorts in Bali went the extra mile.
They submitted their primary commercial restaurants to be formally certified by The PLEDGE on Food Waste. Through a meticulous third-party audit, these teams demonstrated an unwavering dedication to meet 95 strict criteria. Remarkably, all four restaurants achieved outstanding compliance scores.
Gold Level Certifications in Bali
The Village Square at Andaz Bali leads the nation with an impressive 96% compliance score. Meanwhile, Omang Omang at Hyatt Regency Bali, Seasalt at Alila Seminyak, and Garden Café at Grand Hyatt Bali all secured an admirable 94%. Consequently, these high marks earned each property a Gold Level certification. This collective achievement makes them the very first certified venues in Indonesia.
This historic joint effort successfully saved 98,621 kilograms of food from entering landfills. For context, this volume is equivalent to 197,242 individual meals. Furthermore, it prevented 246,553 kilograms of harmful carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Simultaneously, the resorts saved a commendable 340,815 dollars in raw food costs. This financial milestone clearly proves the economic viability of green initiatives. Ultimately, prioritizing reducing hotel food waste delivers a clear win for both the planet and the corporate bottom line.
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
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