Why hospitality’s food waste ambitions are getting stuck, and how to get them moving

Food waste isn't a new challenge for hospitality, but we’re getting to a crunch point. This year, the UN again put food waste on the global agenda through its International Day of Zero Waste, highlighting that food loss and waste account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Here in England, new waste separation requirements have also changed what businesses are expected to do in practice when it comes to food waste. And there is an obvious commercial incentive. WRAP estimates that food waste costs the hospitality and food service sector £3.2 billion every year.

But right now there is a gap between knowing something needs to change and being able to make that change happen.

We've seen this first-hand at FuturePlus. Together with hospitality consultancy Horwath HTL, we analysed primary sustainability data from 100 hospitality profiles using our FutureImpact platform. 

Food waste management is among the five most commonly set ambitions in the dataset. Yet 77% of those ambitions weren't completed within their original target timeframe.

On its own, that could sound like a fairly negative story about hospitality. It isn't.

Across the same dataset, 70% of sustainability ambitions overall are completed on time. Businesses are making progress. They're setting goals around food waste, general waste reduction and carbon measurement because these are issues they are actively trying to address. But they're also the kinds of changes that can become much harder when they meet the reality of running a hospitality business.

So, what gets in the way when businesses try to tackle it? 

The problem isn’t the target, but whether the business can deliver it in practice

Food waste is not created or managed in one place. Purchasing decisions, menu design, forecasting, portion sizes, preparation, storage, labelling, and what happens to food that cannot be used all affect it.

Reducing it depends on hundreds of everyday decisions made by different people, often across multiple properties. Staff need to understand what counts as food waste, how to separate it, and why the process matters. That can be difficult in a sector characterised by shift work, high staff turnover, agency workers, and teams with varying training levels.

The physical and local infrastructure also matters. Properties need appropriate bins, clear labelling, sufficient storage space, and waste collections that work with the realities of a busy kitchen. Access to food waste recycling and anaerobic digestion facilities can vary significantly by location, while collection costs and frequency may make implementation harder for smaller or more remote businesses.

This helps explain why progress can be slower in sustainability areas such as Environment and Climate, where businesses depend not only on internal commitment but also on buildings, equipment, suppliers, waste contractors, and local infrastructure. For example, 70% of general waste reduction ambitions in our dataset were not completed within their original target timeframe.

The businesses making progress tend to address three things together:

1. They prevent waste before managing it

Separating food waste is important, but it comes after the waste has already been created. Businesses need to understand where food is being lost beforehand, whether it be through over-ordering, spoilage, preparation, buffet service, portion sizes, or uneaten meals. 

A reliable baseline, collected at property level, helps teams identify the causes of waste and focus on the changes that will make the greatest operational and commercial difference.

2. They make the right process easy to follow

A company-wide policy will achieve little if the people handling food do not know what is expected of them. Training needs to be practical, regularly repeated, and suitable for the way hospitality teams actually work.

Clear labelling, well-positioned bins, consistent storage procedures, and straightforward guidance all matter. Responsibility also needs to be visible at the property level, with someone accountable for monitoring whether the process is working and resolving problems when it is not.

3. They connect internal action with external infrastructure

Businesses cannot solve food waste entirely within their own four walls. Progress also depends on waste contractors, suitable collection services, recycling capacity, and access to anaerobic digestion or other appropriate treatment facilities.

Groups operating across several locations may need different solutions for different properties. Understanding what is locally available, reviewing contracts, and working directly with waste partners can be just as important as setting the original target.

Good data ties it all together. It shows where food is being wasted, whether new processes are working, and where further training, operational change, or investment is needed. For hospitality businesses, the answer is not to set more ambitious food waste targets. It is to give people the knowledge, processes, facilities, and external support they need to deliver them.