ne'ma Reports 8% Decrease in Food Waste Across 190 Hospitality Outlets in UAE

ne’ma, the UAE national food loss and waste initiative, in line with the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) agenda, revealed groundbreaking results during the "National Action at Scale for Reducing Food Waste in the Hospitality Sector" panel announcement at Expo City Pavilion, Green Zone, COP28.

This world-first private-public partnership presented transformative outcomes of its hospitality sector trial and emphasised ne’ma's commitment to driving systemic change in food waste reduction.

The trial engaged 190 FB outlets from major hospitality groups, in addition to leading catering and food supply companies.

The trials started on 31st July, 2023, when ne’ma launched a national call to action to the hospitality sector, restaurants, and catering businesses in the UAE, inviting them to be part of its nationwide trials that aim to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) by 50 percent by 2030. The trial was split into two phases; the first phase commenced with baseline data collection, during which all participating outlets collected food waste data while operating as usual during a 5-week period.

During phase two, the same entities implemented changes to their food management processes, referred to as “behavioural nudges”. They continued to collect food waste data during a further 5-week period. To measure impact, food waste per diner was compared before and after the nudges were implemented. The results show that food waste was reduced by a meaningful 8 percent, equivalent to 15.2 tonnes of food across participating outlets.

Khuloud Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Emirates Foundation and the Secretary-General of the ne’ma Committee, said,

“COP28 is the first COP to draw strong links between climate change and the food we eat. We have already witnessed the announcement of transformative global policy initiatives, including the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. Policies must go hand-in-hand with action – and we must all reinforce new behaviours that eliminate food loss and waste."

“The hospitality industry, particularly hotels, plays a significant role in the prevalent issue of food waste in the UAE. As we share the results of ne'ma's hospitality sector trials, we commend all participating outlets and hospitality operators for their diligence and strong participation. Our data shows that 92 percent of participants plan to continue using the behavioral interventions to reduce food waste beyond the trial, which indicates deep awareness of the issues and, importantly, an appetite for solutions,"

Al Nuwais concluded.

Emma Banks, VP of FB Strategy Development for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Hilton, said,

"Aligned with ne'ma's national trial, Hilton's Green Breakfast initiative seamlessly complements the shared goal: food waste reduction. Focused solely on breakfast operations across 13 UAE-based hotels, our structured approach, integrating technology and unwavering commitment at all organisational levels, resulted in an impressive 62 percent reduction in both consumer plate and preparation waste. This success contributes meaningfully to national efforts, underlining that substantial reductions are not just aspirational but achievable now."

Throughout the trial, ne’ma supported the hospitality sector in addressing the causes of their food waste by designing KPIs to understand how food is wasted within businesses, in line with international standards. ne’ma also provided in-person training workshops to over 340 participants and delivered over 50 virtual training sessions to enable partners to participate in the trial. ne’ma also created a ne’ma data hub, which provided the digital infrastructure to measure food waste nationally and integrate data from the hospitality sector and other organisations working towards this common goal.

Earlier this year, ne'ma partnered with Winnow, a leading food waste technology provider, to drive data-driven decision-making in the hospitality sector. Insights suggest the partners that have achieved higher food waste reductions are a result of the level of maturity in implementing sustainable practices, their investment in utilising innovative technologies for tracking food waste, such as Winnow, the longer timeframe, applying many nudges at the same time, and most importantly the commitment of the organisation and staff to meet food waste reduction targets.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that food services account for 26 percent of food waste globally. This represents an important issue for a nation where 52 percent of residents eat out at restaurants more than once a week. Considering these figures, ne’ma believes that addressing food waste behaviours in the food services sector is crucial in tackling this challenge in the UAE.

News Source: Emirates News Agency