Pirani 2015

Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2015) 1e17
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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro
Reduction of food waste generation in the hospitality industry

Sanaa I. Pirani, Hassan A. Arafat*
Institute Center for Water and Environment (iWater), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology,
P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: In this study, we examined the current status of food waste management in the hospitality sector, taking
Received 21 June 2014 the United Arab Emirates, in general, and Abu Dhabi, in particular, as examples. We specifically studied
Received in revised form the for-profit subdivision of the hospitality sector, comprising primarily of hotels and restaurants. First,
8 July 2015
we surveyed the management staff of 45 hotels/restaurants, in order to understand how much food
Accepted 29 July 2015
Available online xxx
waste is generated and how food service operations can impact food waste production within these
establishments. Then, we carried out materials flow analyses to investigate how the amounts of food
waste generated varied at the different steps of the food service chain, and what factors contributed most
Keywords:
Food waste
significantly to these amounts. Water and carbon footprints of the disposed food waste at some of the
Hospitality sector events monitored were also calculated for benchmarking. We found that the factors contributing most
Materials flow analysis significantly to food waste generation include serving style and timing, type of food served, and the
Carbon footprint prediction accuracy of the number of expected customers. To account for the interplay of these various
Sustainability parameters, a performance indicator, named the FRESH number, was introduced to rate the sustainability
United Arab Emirates of food service within the hospitality sector. Finally, based on our findings, we recommended a number
of minimization strategies for food waste in the hospitality sector. Simple but effective strategies, which
involve the cooperation of the hotel/restaurant staff and the guests, can lead to a drastic decrease in
global food waste generation.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction lead to a significant increase in the hospitality industry's environ-

mental footprint. In fact, waste generation is considered by some to be
The hospitality sector in many parts of the world is expected to the most noticeable effect which the hospitality sector has on the
see significant rates of growth in the next few years. This is true for environment (Bohdanowicz, 2005). This, combined with the large
the United States (Berman, 2014), European countries (Milburn and amount of food served in the global hospitality sector (e.g. up to one
Hall, 2014), and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council third of all food consumed in Denmark is served within the hospitality
(MeetMiddleEast, 2013). This expansion in hospitality sector oper- sector (Marthinsen et al., 2012)), leads to food waste being a very
ations would lead to an increase in waste generated by the sector. In significant component of hospitality waste, and possibly accounting
the hospitality sector, the cost of solid waste includes various factors for more than 50% of it (Curry, 2012). As an example, in the UK alone,
such as the disposal and transport of waste as well as labor costs 920,000 tons of food is wasted at hospitality and food service sector
(Todd and Hawkins, 2003). Better waste management may therefore outlets annually, 75% of which is avoidable (Parfitt et al., 2013).
lead to significant savings for businesses, with the extent of savings Food waste is defined as “any by-product or waste product
varying depending on the location of the business and the waste from the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of
management policies in the region where it is located. Other benefits food” (Okazaki et al., 2008). For the purpose of this study, food
of ecofriendly waste management include an improved business waste is characterized as any food discarded as part of the food
image, reduced carbon emissions from the decreased transportation service process in the hospitality sector. This could be food prep-
of waste, and health and safety benefits (Ball and Abou Taleb, 2010). aration/processing waste or waste from serving dishes or the
If current waste management operations are not improved, the guests' plates. In addition, the hospitality sector may be divided
increasing amounts of waste generated by the hospitality sector would into for-profit and not-for-profit establishments. The not-for-profit
subsection would typically consist of establishments such as staff
canteens and cafeterias at schools and hospitals (Parfitt et al.,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ971 2 810 9119; fax: þ971 2 810 9901.
E-mail address: harafat@masdar.ac.ae (H.A. Arafat). 2013).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.07.146
0959-6526/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Pirani, S.I., Arafat, H.A., Reduction of food waste generation in the hospitality industry, Journal of Cleaner
Production (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.07.146
2 S.I. Pirani, H.A. Arafat / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2015) 1e17
There are not many scholarly publications available on food AuthoriƟes (e.g. Centre Masdar InsƟtute
All Hotels
waste management in the hospitality sector. Quite a bit of research Data Sources of Waste Management) Canteen (Data)
has been done on food losses in the global food supply but not in
global food demand (Bender, 1994). Post-harvest losses should be
Hotels
considered more carefully. For example, a 2013 review paper which Subset
accounted for publications from all over the world on food waste
prevention in the food supply chain mentioned only one publica- Data CollecƟon
tion about cafeterias in Brazil, two publications about the hospi- Interviews
Procedures MFA
tality sector in general (one with reference to the UK and the other
with reference to the Nordic countries), and one publication about
hotel restaurants in Norway (Schneider, 2013). However, more StaƟsƟcal CorrelaƟon
literature is available on this topic in the form of reports published of Interview Variables
& Hotel
by various entities around the world, describing the food waste
generated at hospitality sector establishments in certain countries
or regions. Some of these studies describe the composition of the
food waste in terms of the types of food it consists of (Parfitt et al., Analysis of all Data (SecƟon 3)
2013) though many of the reports available do not mention the

quantities of avoidable food waste (Marthinsen et al., 2012). A Fig. 1. Methodology for this paper: defining the status quo of the UAE hospitality
sector both qualitatively and quantitatively.
recent review which we published on waste management in the
hospitality industry in general, and food waste management in that
sector in particular, revealed that substantial change in the way
drives and pathways for food waste generation in the hospitality
food is produced and consumed in the hospitality sector is neces-
sector and to quantify this waste through the food service chain.
sary if the generation of this waste is to be substantially minimized
The methodology for this paper is summarized in Fig. 1. For the sake
(Pirani and Arafat, 2014). Moreover, effective food waste minimi-
of this study, by hospitality sector, the establishments being
zation strategies would mean more lean, cost-effective operations
referred to are the hotels, restaurants, and cafeterias which operate
and therefore smaller consumption of food resources.
on a for-profit basis. We have also included in our study other or-
When considering the current status of food waste manage-
ganizations such as the local waste management authority which,
ment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hospitality sector, espe-
though not a part of the hospitality sector per se, influence the food
cially with regards to the Abu Dhabi emirate, it is imperative to
waste management decisions made by the hospitality sector. As a
discuss the policies which have recently been put into place to
result, all relevant stakeholders in the issue of food waste man-
minimize this waste generation. The Abu Dhabi Tourism and
agement for the hospitality sector have been considered.
Cultural Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) had aimed to reduce the
Although the data presented in this work has been collected in
amount of hospitality waste going to landfills by 20% by the end of
the UAE, the data collection procedures and the research method-
2010 as a first step in its environmental program (Bundhun, 2010;
ology, especially with regards to the quantitative data, were
Green Hotelier, 2010). Moreover, recently Abu Dhabi's Centre of
designed with global applicability in mind. Moreover, this study
Waste Management (CWM) implemented an initiative called the
reflects on the particular attributes of certain events, therefore
Nadafa Program (which means “cleanliness” in Arabic) which was
making the relevant connections between those attributes and the
established to monitor and control all waste-related activities for
waste generated. This helped in the realization of the strategies to
the commercial, industrial, and construction sectors (Ramos,
be implemented to minimize the food waste generated in the
2011). As part of this program, a tariff system that charges per
hospitality sector. These strategies are also mentioned as part of
ton of waste generated in these sectors has been launched, which
this work and are currently being tested as part of the next phase of
applies to the hospitality sector as well. In addition, the top 5% of
this research.
waste producers (each of which generates more than 250 tons of
The hotels which we worked with as part of this study were
waste per year) have been asked by the CWM to provide a stan-
chosen to represent a spectrum of hospitality sector properties
dardized audit report. Most of the hotels we have interacted with
as part of this study are in this top 5% category. These establish-
ments may or may not need to pay a penalty in addition to the
tariff, and this, along with the amount of the penalty, depends on Raw ingredients
the performance of the hotel as documented in the audit report
(Radan, 2013).
One of the ways to utilize untouched leftover food is to donate it, Preparation Food preparation
prep
waste
usually through charities. In the case of the UAE, the Red Crescent
Society (RCS) operates the “Hefth Al Ne'ma” program (which means
“looking after blessings” in Arabic (Aburawa, 2012)) as a result of Waste from Waste
Foodd Service
Se from
which the public can call the Society and schedule a free pick up of serving dishes (buffet or a la
(buffet) guest
untouched leftover food at the conclusion of any large event, such carte’) plates
as a wedding. As per the RCS rules, the projected food leftover
quantity must be enough to feed at least 50 persons for this service
to be requested. The Society then distributes this food to needy Given to staff Un-consumed
cons Given to
families (Todorova, 2010). food charity
Saved for later use
2. Methodology
Waste to disposal
d
This research utilizes multiple qualitative and quantitative tools,
including materials flow analysis (MFA), to understand the main Fig. 2. Depiction of material flow in food service process.
S.I. Pirani, H.A. Arafat / Journal of Cleaner Production xxx (2015) 1e17 3
present in the UAE; therefore these properties had varying char- Finally, a number of key hotel attributes were recorded for
acteristics in terms of their type of ownership, their size, their statistical correlation with some of the hotels' interview responses.
Michelin rating, etc. For example, some of the hotels were The statistical correlation tests were done using Fisher's Exact test,
government-owned (7%) while others were private establishments with a significance value of 0.05. The associated p-values were
(93%); 83% of the hotels belonged to chains which had their calculated using the Stata software (StataCorp, USA; Version 11.0).
headquarters (HQ) in the UAE, while 17% were part of international Fisher's Exact test was used due to its consideration of categorical
hotel chains. These hotels were of varying sizes (in terms of variables and the fact that oftentimes our sample contained a small
numbers of rooms: 82% had less than 400 rooms/hotel while 18% number of observations (Institute for Digital Research and
had more than 400 rooms/hotel) and all of the hotels were in the 3 Education, UCLA, 2014).
to 5-star rating range (16% were 3*, 27% were 4*, and 57% were 5*).
In this paper, the names of the hotels have not been mentioned 2.2. Quantification of food waste flows
for confidentiality reasons. Each hotel is identified by two charac-
ters. The first is a letter which is representative of the hotel chain it The quantification of food waste flows was accomplished as a
belongs to while the second character is a number which is unique result of two methods of data collection: the first method involved
to that particular hotel. As a first step, interviews with relevant obtaining daily food waste data from the canteen at Masdar Insti-
stakeholders were used to get information about the food service tute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, while the second
operations of, and waste management policy for, the whole set of method involved an MFA for the different events that we monitored
hotels included in the study. Later, a subset of this pool of hotels at various hotel restaurants. With regards to the first method, the
was worked with closely in order to obtain the material flow ana- operation of the Masdar Institute canteen is outsourced by the
lyses (MFA) data. The hotels in this subset were chosen based on Institute to a catering company which works on a for-profit basis.
their willingness to allow an elaborate MFA study to take place on The data for this analysis was obtained directly from the canteen
their premises during the actual food service process. Under- staff; it included the amounts of food waste generated on a daily
standably, this is a smaller subset of the interviewed hotel pool, basis at the canteen during 2012 and 2013 (data for September 2012
since the MFA procedure involved some logistical restrictions for was not available). The canteen uses the regular buffet style of
the operations of both the kitchen and stewarding staff. service. The waste values obtained from the canteen represented
the cooked food waste which will be referred to in this paper as the
2.1. Interviews with hospitality sector staff post-consumer food waste (PCFW) (i.e. all the un-consumed food
and leftovers generated at the end of a meal service), which in-
As already mentioned, as part of this study, interviews were cludes the food waste both from customers' plates and the buffet
conducted with relevant stakeholders. These interviews shed light serving dishes. In some cases the number of people served at the
on the operations of 45 different hotels in the UAE as well as on the canteen per day was also available and so, the per person waste
perspective of different authorities which influence food waste generation rates could be calculated. In addition, an interview with
management operations in the hospitality sector, such as the Abu the canteen supervisor was conducted to get a better idea of the
Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and local canteen operations and to understand the variations/trends
charities. These interviews were carried out in person during observed in the data.
meetings arranged between us and representatives of the hotels/ The second method, as mentioned above, is based on MFA data
organizations. The hotel/organization representatives interviewed collection. “Material flow analysis (MFA) is a systematic assessment
held various positions at their respective establishments such as of the flows and stocks of materials within a system defined in
head of engineering, EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) manager, space and time (Brunner, 2004)”. In our case, the objective of the
food safety and hygiene manager, project manager, or executive MFA was to measure the percentages of food wasted at the different
chef. The questions asked in the interviews were decided upon steps of the food service process (as depicted in Fig. 2) since this
based on a thorough review of publications and websites con- would help identify where the greatest amount of food waste is
cerning what hotels in the UAE, and around the world, are already generated, allowing for the development of food waste minimiza-
doing as part of their food waste management strategies. The in- tion strategies accordingly. The MFAs were conducted at various
terviews helped verify whether this is actually the case on the hotels for a variety of events, addressing different event types
ground (in the case of the former) and whether such strategies are (wedding buffet versus normal buffets), different service styles
also being implemented in the UAE (in the case of the latter). The (buffet versus a la carte) and different times of service (breakfast
questions were also framed in a way that helped us assess the buffet versus lunch buffet). For all the events monitored, we were at
general interest of hotel administration in matters related to sus- the venue for the complete duration of the event. The serving style
tainability. It is important to get this information and asses the for all the buffet services studied was the regular buffet style, where
status quo as far as food waste management in the UAE hospitality the food is set out in a certain place and the guests go to that place
sector is concerned, since it is only through a complete under- to take food on their plates. The only exceptions were the wedding
standing of this matter that viable solution strategies can be sug- buffet and the “traditional” lunch buffet. In these two cases, the
gested, and this has been achieved through the interviews ‘family’ style of service (also known as the ‘Arabic set menu’) was
conducted. The questions primarily asked during the interviews used wherein the food is served to the guests through serving
assessed the following issues: awareness of TCA Abu Dhabi's and dishes which are placed directly on the tables at which they are
Abu Dhabi's Centre of Waste Management (CWM)'s policies sitting.
regarding food waste management for the hospitality sector, The amount of raw food ingredients (Fig. 2) going into the
whether the hotels had signs in their staff canteens which process (total mass of ingredients) was considered to be equal to
encouraged staff to minimize food wastage, whether the hotels had the sum of all the other amounts within the chain. The amounts of
ever carried out a campaign to encourage guests to be more sus- food waste being produced were physically measured at the
tainable when it comes to food waste, whether the hotels were different stages (e.g. preparation waste, plate waste, etc.). Much
composting their food waste or planning to do so (and if not, why), care had to be taken in terms of ensuring that the food waste was
and, last but not least, whether the hotels were donating their properly segregated and that the garbage bags being weighed
untouched leftover food to charities (and if not, why). consisted only of food and no other materials (e.g. no packaging
waste from the kitchen or waste such as straws or tissues from the for these were a document by the Environmental Working Group of
guests' plates). Much attention was also given to making sure that the United States (Hamerschlag and Venkat, 2011; Richards, 2013)
the preparation waste was only for the food being prepared for the and the Carbon Neutral website (Carbon Neutral, 2011). Carbon
event being monitored, since in many hotels there was a central Neutral is an Australian company which works in the areas of
kitchen which catered to multiple restaurants within the hotel. In carbon solutions and reforestation development.
the case of small scale operations, physically measuring the prep-
aration waste ourselves was possible, but for large scale operations 3. Results and discussion
it was very difficult to achieve this without leading to considerable
hindrance in kitchen operations. As a result, for the large scale 3.1. Current status of food waste management in the UAE
operations that were studied, the preparation waste values were hospitality sector: interview results
provided by the chef's office along with the mass of the different
ingredients used for the event. These preparation waste values 3.1.1. Interviews with authorities
were based on the experience of the chef and his staff (e.g. if When we met with representatives of the RCS's Hefth Al Ne'ma
vegetable lasagna was being served during an event for 400 people, program, we were informed that, thanks to the Program, about
they knew that 40 kg of fresh tomatoes would be used and this 175,000 meals were delivered in 2012 to needy individuals. In
would lead to approximately 5 kg of wastage). However, for all addition, though the Program is now ten years old, to date, none of
events, the post-consumer food waste (PCFW) amounts, such as the the recipients of the donated food have ever reported getting sick via
food waste from serving dishes as well as excess food destined for the consumption of this food. Indeed, we had the privilege of
donation to local charities, were all physically collected and watching the Hefth Al Ne'ma staff in action during the wedding buffet
measured on site once the event was over. After the relevant cal- event which we monitored for our MFA work, and it was clear that
culations were made, it was assumed that the balance (raw food the staff were well-trained and very careful about selecting, pack-
ingredients mass less all types of food waste [i.e. preparation aging, storing and transporting the food they took. They did not take
waste þ PCFW]) represented the food actually eaten by the guests. any food which had been touched or any food that had a greater
This was possible since, as a result of “the law of the conservation of portion of water and so was more likely to spoil faster.
matter, the results of an MFA can be controlled by a simple material We also interviewed representatives of the TCA Abu Dhabi.
balance comparing all inputs, stocks, and outputs of a process” During the interview it was learned that senior members of the Abu
(Brunner, 2004). Since this category of food that was eaten repre- Dhabi government have also taken notice of the issue of food waste
sented the balance of all other quantities, any errors in the deter- in the hospitality sector and have accordingly suggested that light
mination of those quantities would be accumulated in this category refreshments be served at weddings (in lieu of lavish dinner buf-
(the error sink). In two of the events monitored, the data provided fets) in an effort to reduce food waste. Consequently, some hotels
to the researchers was not in the form of raw ingredients going into have started offering hors d'oeuvre menus as an option for their
the process but in the form of the total mass of cooked food being clients. Such menus generate much less food waste than a full
served. This meant that preparation waste values could not be course lunch/dinner due to the petite nature of the menu items
accounted for in these two events. Moreover, during the moni- served and their more dynamic supply-upon-demand nature.
toring of events, the number of guests who were expected at the
event, the number of guests who were cooked for, and the number 3.1.2. Interviews with hotels
of guests who actually attended the event were also obtained from Table 1 presents the attributes of, and the responses provided
the hotel administration. by, some of the hotels we worked with during this study. The hotel
Furthermore, it must be clarified whether the food waste data sample in Table 1 was chosen to represent the variety of hotel
included in this paper refers to edible food that was thrown away, characteristics/attributes accounted for in our study.
or to food which is generally considered inedible (e.g. meat bones). As a result of our interviews with hotels in the UAE, we found
In the case of the preparation waste accounted for in this study, it out that though most hotels had data reporting the amount of re-
was largely unavoidable waste such as peels and fat trimmings cyclables and the amount of organic waste they were generating,
from meat cuts. With regards to the PCFW, whether this was plate they did not have any figures that specifically accounted for the
waste or serving dishes waste, this was food that was destined for food waste generated on site. In addition, 45% of the hotels inter-
disposal. In the case of plate waste, it consisted of both inedible and viewed were reaching the TCA Abu Dhabi target of reducing the
edible food. For example, a guest at a buffet may have taken too amount of waste they were sending to the landfills by 20%. This was
much food which he/she was unable to finish; technically what was a result of the waste segregation which they were carrying out on
left on their plate was edible but was thrown away for reasons their premises to facilitate recycling. Moreover, many of the hotels
related to safety and hygiene. Along the same lines, the serving were implementing strategies to minimize food waste generated
dishes waste comprised of food which was technically edible. due to spoilage/expiry. This included ensuring that a first-in, first-
out system was applied for food inventory, planning to cook dishes
2.3. Water and carbon footprint estimation that would use ingredients that were going to expire soon, and
storing all fruits and vegetables in wire crates to allow air circula-
Based on the data collected during the MFA studies, the lists of tion and to reduce microbial growth and spoilage.
ingredients of some of the events monitored were used to estimate The data presented in Figs. 3 and 4 compiles the results of our
the water and carbon footprint of the food waste landfilled, since hotel interviews. Fig. 3 highlights the extent of food waste mini-
the landfilled food was specified as a percentage of the food input mization initiatives which the hotels were actually implementing.
into the process. For water and carbon footprint calculations, two A significant portion of the hotels (44%) had signs in their staff
calculators were used for each parameter and the results from both canteens which encouraged staff to minimize food wastage, though
calculators were averaged. The calculators of the water footprint none of the hotels had such signs in their guest restaurants. This
were available from the waterfootprint.org website (Mekonnen and indicates that while the establishments may genuinely be inter-
Hoekstra, 2010, 2011) and a publication entitled The water footprint ested in sustainability in terms of food waste minimization, they do
of food from the University of Twente, the Netherlands (Hoekstra, not proactively enforce this in their restaurants. As described by
2011). With regard to the carbon footprint calculators, the sources some of the interviewees, the hotels sell an “experience” and do not
Table 1
Attributes of some of the hotels included in this study.
Hotel A1 A2 B2 C2 E F1 F2 G1 H I
Ownership Private Private Private Private Public Private Private Private Public Private
HQ location (inside or outside UAE) Inside Inside Outside Outside N/A Inside Inside Outside N/A Outside
Rating (no. of stars) 4 5 3 4 5 5 5 4 5 5
Hotel size (no. of rooms) 287 565 294 301 600 292 382 428 394 172
Reaching TCA AD targets Yes Yes Yes No No N/Aa No Yes Not sure yet Yes
Signs in staff canteen Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No
Using leftovers Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No
Donating leftovers to charity? Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Composting food waste (currently or planned)? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
a
Hotel was not located in Abu Dhabi so the TCA AD's policies were not applicable to it.
80
Percentage of respondents which said Yes
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Do you have signs in the Has your hotel ever Does your hotel(s) Does your hotel(s) work
staff canteens carried out any compost its food waste with chari es (e.g., Hi h
encouraging staff to be campaign to encourage or is it planning to do an Ne'mah) to collect
more sustainable? guests to be more so? uneaten food?
sustainable when it
comes to food waste?
Fig. 3. Interview results: food waste management initiatives employed by the hotels.
“lecture guests” on sustainability. This also explains why only a already being done at one of the hotels included in this study, this
small percentage of hotels (7%) had ever actually carried out a strategy is generally seen as being much more labor-intensive and
campaign to encourage guests to be more sustainable when it therefore is considered an impractical solution for properties
comes to food waste, as is also shown in Fig. 3. serving large numbers of guests. Consequently, when considering
Fig. 3 also presents data concerning the percentage of hotels integrating composting into their operations, hotels generally only
which were composting their food waste or planning to do so (67%) consider the larger, more expensive, automated machines as an
and the percentage of hotels which were donating their untouched option which they may be unable to use due to the aforementioned
leftover food to charities (47%). These percentages are quite high, reasons.
and will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Fig. 3 shows how almost 50% of the hotels that took part in the
As is clear from Fig. 4(a), there are a number of strategies used by interview donated food to a charity such as the RCS. (This value is
hotels to decrease the amount of PCFW which they dispose of. In different from that cited in Fig. 4(a) since, as part of the calculations
Abu Dhabi, the most common of these strategies is composting. for Fig. 4(a), a certain hotel may be considered multiple times as a
Awareness of composting is increasing in the UAE with various result of implementing multiple food waste minimization strate-
composting technologies having become available in the recent gies.) For those hotels which didn't donate to charities, as shown in
past. Indeed, due to the Nadafa Program restrictions, it was found Fig. 4(c), this was due to either not generating enough leftover food,
that many hotels had either already installed, or were looking into not being aware of such charity programs, or due to reasons con-
installing, a composting machine at their premises, as is clear from cerned with public relations or legal issues. Another commonly
Fig. 3. For those hotels which had decided not to employ com- cited reason was HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
posting, this was due to a variety of reasons (Fig. 4(b)) such as the Point) restrictions. These are restrictions which specify how long
fact that they were not generating enough compostable waste (in food can be kept and under what conditions before it must be
smaller hotels), the composting machine was too expensive, or the thrown away (i.e., as unfit for human consumption). For example,
fact that they did not have the space to house the composting cooked chicken must be kept refrigerated at 41 F or below, or be
machine at their property. Though the small-scale (and un- stored at 135 F or above, or be kept at room temperature condi-
automated) composting options available in the UAE (in the form tions for 4 h or less (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2006). If
of composting bins) can also be used at the commercial level, as is any one of these conditions is not met then the chicken must be
a b correlation tests are shown in Table 2 where the Variable 1 category

What do you do on site to Why aren't you consists of the independent hotel attributes and the Variable 2
minimize food disposal? composƟng your food category consists of the hotel interview responses. As is clear from
8%
waste? the highlighted cell in Table 2, the only significant correlation was
12% that between the location of the hotel's headquarters and whether
24% 29% 14% or not it donated leftover food to charities. Indeed, it was found that
20% hotels which had their headquarters in the UAE or were
36% 57% government-owned hotels were more comfortable with donating
excess food to local charities. On the contrary, hotels which had
their headquarters outside the UAE seemed to be more worrisome
Nothing Not enough waste of issues such as recipients of the donated food becoming sick and
generated the reputation of the hotel suffering as a result. It may therefore be
Give le overs to staff
The compos ng machine is concluded that to improve this situation, these international hotels
Use le overs in subsequent too expensive could be encouraged by the relevant authorities to donate food as
meals (directly or as ingredients) well as be assured that as long as the hotels are performing their
Compos ng Space restric ons
‘due diligence’ and as long as the charities sign a disclaimer, any
Dona ng to chari es possible negative impacts of the food they donate would not be
held against the hotels. Moreover, it must be emphasized here that
c Why does your hotel some of the hotels which have their headquarters in the UAE were
not donate to chariƟes also not donating to charities as they were small hotels which did
(e.g. HiŌh an Ne'mah)? not generate enough leftover food to justify the donation logistics.
12%
25%
3.2. MFA for the hospitality sector food service process
13%
50%
Fig. 5 shows the results of all the MFA studies we conducted at
various hotels, showing in terms of percentages the variation in
food waste generated at the individual steps of the food service
Not enough waste process for the different events. It also shows the percentage of food
generated eaten, the percentage donated or given to staff, and the percentage
Are not aware of this
Program saved for later use. It can be deduced from the figure that the
PR/Legal reasons serving dishes waste (for buffets) tended to be most significant
followed by the preparation food waste and finally the waste from
HACCP restric ons
plates. In addition, whether or not food was being saved/donated/
Fig. 4. Interview results: reasons behind unsustainable behavior. given to staff varied for each event and so these fields did not have a
value for all events. For better contrast, Figs. 6 and 7 show the MFA
results of some of the events monitored in the form of Sankey di-
disposed of as it is considered unfit for human consumption. The agrams. The diagrams are divided into the following categories:
specific regulations vary from one establishment to another but, in
all cases, need to be approved by an authorized investigator for the - The blue arrows are classified as unavoidable (but potentially
establishment to receive the HACCP certification. It was interesting compostable) waste, which in this case is preparation waste.
to note that all the hotels included in the interview were HACCP - The green arrows represent the food eaten (the ‘balance’ as
certified while only some of those hotels felt that this certification defined in Section 2.2).
precluded them from donating excess food to charities. On the - The red arrows represent all potentially avoidable wastage,
other hand, hotels which were donating to a charity were making referred to as post-consumer food waste (PCFW) in this paper.
sure that the latter signed a disclaimer that would not hold the Thus, by definition, even if the excess food was not disposed of,
hotel accountable if a recipient of the food was taken ill. What is when donated to the charities or eaten by the staff, for example,
more, many of the hotels tended to store the cooked food in hot and this excess (or ‘waste’) food technically could have been avoided
cold cabinets. This ensured that the food was kept at the desired if all the food was used for the purpose for which it was pre-
temperature as long as it had not been served; drastically reducing pared (i.e., to feed the guests).
the chance that it would get spoiled and theoretically improving
the possibility of food donation. Moreover, it must be mentioned here that of all the events
The hotel responses discussed thus far were tested for statistical monitored, property D was the only one which already had a
correlation to four independent hotel attributes (ownership, HQ composting machine on site and so all the waste generated from
location, star rating, and hotel size). The p-values resulting from the the traditional lunch buffet went into this machine. Also, it was
Table 2
Correlation between independent hotel attributes and their interview responses (significance value ¼ 0.05).
p-Values Variable 2
Reaching ADTA targets Signs in staff canteens Using leftovers Charity Composting
Ownership 0.192 1 0.165 0.165 1

HQ location 1 0.524 1 0.001 0.559
Variable 1
Star rating 0.772 1 0.748 0.266 0.221
Hotel size 0.587 1 0.245 0.558 0.565
I ar Buffet – Property A1 Lunch Buffet – Property A1

Wedding Buffet – Property A2 A la carte – Property B1
Breakfast Buffet – Property B2 Lunch Buffet– Property B1
Lunch Buffet – Property C1 A la Carte Dinner– Property C2
Lunch Buffet – Property A3 Tradi onal Lunch Buffet – Property D
90
80
70
60
Percentages
50
40
30
20
10
0
Prepara on Food eaten Food given to Food given to Food saved Waste from Waste from
Waste staff charity (HAN) for later use Plates Serving Dishes
Fig. 5. MFA results: breakdown showing the final destination of all food involved in the food service process for each event monitored.
pointed out by the staff of multiple hotels that they had noticed that service. For instance, the a la carte style of service is reported to
guests of certain nationalities tended to waste more food than generate less waste than the buffet style of service (Hackes et al.,
others. However, all of the events monitored under this study 1997). This is also reflected in our MFA data, where Fig. 6(a)
tended to be serving a variety of nationalities and so the authen- shows the MFA results for an a la carte service while parts (b) and
ticity of the hotel staff's abovementioned claim could not be veri- (c) show the MFA results for a regular buffet style of service. It is
fied as part of this work. important to note that all three of these events were at hotels of the
Fig. 6 shows the differences in food waste generation at events same chain. This is an international hotel chain with its head-
where the preparation waste values were known. Fig. 6(a) shows the quarters outside of the UAE and, as discussed before, its properties
MFA of an a la carte dinner at property B1, Fig. 6(b) shows the MFA of were not donating excess food leftovers to any charity. It is clear
a breakfast buffet at property B2, while Fig. 6(c) shows the MFA of a from Fig. 6 that in general, the a la carte event has performed better
lunch buffet, again at property B1. On the other hand, Fig. 7 shows (i.e., in terms of food eaten versus food wasted) than the lunch
the difference in food waste generation at events where the prepa- buffet but not as good as the breakfast buffet. This is due to various
ration waste values were unknown and the calculations presented reasons such as the nature of the food being served (Silvennoinen
are on the basis of the total cooked food served at the event. Fig. 7(a) et al., 2012), which will be discussed in the next section.
shows the MFA of a lunch buffet at property A3 while Fig. 7(b) shows It was quite surprising to see from Fig. 5 how food waste from
the MFA of a traditional lunch buffet (i.e., the food served during this plates made up 12% of the total input food in the case of the a la
event was from the local cuisine of the UAE) at property D. Both carte event. This percentage of plate waste is even higher for the a la
Figs. 6 and 7 address the differences in food waste generation at carte event at property C2 (27%). In fact, these results we have
similar properties but during events with different serving styles obtained are in opposition to studies which generally show that the
and at which different types of food were served. a la carte style of service helps to reduce plate waste (Lam, 2010;
Sarjahani et al., 2009). Such results could potentially be justified
3.3. Factors affecting waste generation in the food service process in light of the nature of food that was being served or due to large
serving portions or due to local culture (it is considered inappro-
The factors therefore found to be most relevant when it comes priate to finish all the food on one's plate). This shows how an a la
to determining the amount of food waste generated at a certain carte event may also be wasteful, especially in the UAE, and so a
event, as concluded from all of these MFAs carried out, are dis- general strategy to convert all buffet events to a la carte events to
cussed below. Each of these factors will be studied individually, reduce food wastage may not be the silver bullet which can solve
though oftentimes they are inter-linked (e.g., the time of the week the food waste management issues of the hospitality sector.
affects the percentage of guests expected at an event who actually Different styles of buffet services led to a variation in the waste
show up). The factors are arranged randomly and their categori- flow as well. Fig. 7(a) shows the MFA results of a regular buffet
zation has also been done arbitrarily. Last but not least, the order in while part (b) shows the MFA results for the traditional lunch buffet
which they have been mentioned is not an indication of their which had the ‘family’ style of service. The latter service style
relative importance. makes the operations more convenient from the perspective of the
guest, but it restricts the variety which can be had on one table
3.3.1. Type of service (which is actually favorable from the perspective of the amount of
One of factors which we found to greatly contribute to the food waste generated). In events such as weddings and dinners for
production of food waste in the hospitality sector is the style of various ceremonies, this style of service is increasingly becoming
Fig. 6. MFA Sankey Diagrams for events with different service styles.
the norm in the UAE. Since the serving dishes were at the same huge variety of items. In the words of a hotel group executive who
table where the guests were sitting (negating the need for over- we spoke to, the “hotels are their own enemies” since they increase
filling the guest plates), it is obvious that less waste would be food variety to attract more guests but this leads to more food
generated from the guest plates, as proven by the Sankey diagram waste (Ganapathy, 2013; Martyn, 2011). At the same time, it must
of Fig. 7(b). As is clear from Fig. 5, this is also supported by the be realized that the hotels are acting in this way in order to please
relatively low percentage of plate food waste at the wedding which their guests and, therefore, effective food waste minimization is
was the other ‘family’ style event we monitored. However, events only truly possible if there is a change in the mindset of the guests
with the ‘family’ style of service tended to have relatively large who the hotel is serving.
amounts of serving dishes waste, as is clear from the values for
Property D and Property A2 in Fig. 5, and this is due to the fact that 3.3.2. Type of food served
each menu items is served in so many serving dishes in this service When comparing the two a la carte events monitored as part of
style. this study, Fig. 5 shows that the service at property B1 had 10% less
In addition, the percentage of serving dishes waste generated at preparation waste than that at property C2. The main reason for
the lunch buffet at property C1 was greater than expected. This is this may be the fact that the a la carte restaurant at property B1
because the service style at this event was a slight variation of the served only Italian food while that at property C2 served a more
regular buffet style of service due to the fact that during this event international menu reflecting several cuisines. One could therefore
there were many live cooking stations where cooking was taking infer that the preparation waste generated depends on the types of
place on demand by the guests. Logically this strategy would dishes prepared. For example, there tends to be more preparation
significantly help the property to decrease the serving dishes waste. waste from fresh and raw ingredients (Parfitt et al., 2013) and so, for
However, the improvement was not as much as expected during example, dishes which are vegetable-based may be expected to
this particular event since there was a lot of variety in terms of the generate more preparation waste than pasta-based dishes. Simi-
many different dishes served at the event, and so the improvement larly, Fig. 6(b) shows less preparation waste during a breakfast
provided by the live kitchens was shadowed by the waste due to the buffet, compared to a lunch buffet (Fig. 6(c)), which may again be
Fig. 7. MFA Sankey Diagrams for various types of events.
attributed to the type of food served during the breakfast buffet. countries which is commonly served at events. This also empha-
Breakfast buffets tend to serve foods such as cereals and jams which sizes the realization that guests' mindsets need to be changed in
have a longer shelf life (Siebers, 2013) and so do not lead to food terms of what forms of food presentation are seen as acceptable. As
waste generation if not consumed at the first event where they are long as the guests expect the abundance of food to be displayed, the
served. Though selecting what to cook is of significance in terms of hotel establishments will make sure that they meet these expec-
designing food waste minimization strategies, it would not be tations. Moreover, the discussion concerning the ‘family’ style of
viable for a hotel, for example, to limit itself to only certain dishes or service presented here and in Section 3.3.1 shows how the ‘family’
cuisines in its restaurants in order to minimize food preparation style of service has the advantage of generating less ‘touched’ food
waste. However, what an establishment can do is identify those waste (i.e., from guest plates), but the disadvantage of more ‘un-
types of food/dishes which tend to generate less waste during their touched’ food waste (i.e., serving dishes waste); therefore making
preparation and try to preferentially serve those dishes/food or the re-use of excess food (via donation for example) more possible
highlight them (by, for example, integrating them into menus as an option at the end of ‘family’ style events.
which prospective clients can chose for events), if economically
feasible. 3.3.3. Expected versus actual number of customers
To the same effect, the significant amount of food waste from Yet another factor which greatly contributes to the production of
serving dishes in Fig. 7(b) may be explained not only based the style food waste in the hospitality sector is the inaccurate forecasting of
of service (‘family’ buffet style in this case), but also based on the consumer demand, inherently connected with the guest show-up
type of food served. The main dish served during this event was rate (ratio of actual number of guests attending a meal/event to
lamb and rice, but the presentation of the dish consisted of large the expected/forecasted number of guests). The lower the value of
amounts of rice with non-proportional meat quantities on top of it. this ratio, the more the food waste that can be expected to be
Moreover this dish was served in large serving plates, and multiple generated (Gu, 2014). Establishments try to be as accurate as
guests were eating from each serving plate. As a result, the guests possible in their predictions of how many guests to expect, in order
only ate some food from the outer edges of the circular dish which to save on food costs. However, under-estimating the amount of
was otherwise completely filled with food. The meat was food needed to fulfill customer demand is not a risk most hospi-
consumed first, along with a small portion of the rice, leaving the tality establishments are willing to take and so they prefer to err on
majority of rice behind to finally be disposed of. The same also goes the side of excess. Achieving the right balance, when deciding how
for many other dishes from all over the world which have carbo- much food to cook, is not at all a straightforward procedure (Parfitt
hydrates as sides. In fact, “not all food is created equal. Top of the et al., 2013). This in turn depends on other aspects such as
heap, waste-wise? Cheap carbohydrates.” (Hirsch and Harmanci, knowledge of past guest patterns, predictability of the guests'
2013) numbers, the size of the menu, and external factors such as other
This all goes to show the impact of food composition and pre- hotels/restaurants located in the vicinity of the property. Predicting
sentation on the post-consumer waste generated. The meat and how much to cook can be done using computerized tools, though
lamb dish is actually a traditional dish of the UAE and other Arab many chefs prefer to just rely on their own experience. However, it
is not unusual for circumstances to change suddenly at the last show the data over two years (2012 and 2013). The data for
minute rendering cooking quantities rather inaccurate (Mackenzie September 2012 was unavailable.
et al., 2011). In 2012, waste amounts at the Masdar Institute canteen did
When reviewing the issue of food waste in the UAE media, many not vary significantly by the day of the week, as Fig. 8(a) shows.
news pieces emphasize the large amounts of waste generated in However, since the number of guests catered to on weekends
the hospitality sector during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting (Fridays and Saturdays) tended to be less than the number on
for Muslims. For instance, it is reported that at least 500 tons of food weekdays, the daily waste per guest on weekdays was less than
waste is produced daily in Abu Dhabi during Ramadan (Todorova, that during the weekend. In 2013, the variation between week-
2010). During the interviews conducted as part of this study, the ends and weekdays was in terms of the lower daily waste
interviewees were asked about the issue of food waste in the UAE amount values during the weekends, with the per guest values
during Ramadan. A clear difference of opinion was observed in the varying randomly throughout the week. With regards to
responses received. Some respondents mentioned that the monthly variation, in Ramadan (which occurred mainly in
magnitude of food waste in the hospitality sector is indeed greater August of 2012 and July of 2013), the food waste generated was
during Ramadan, while others said that Ramadan is no different reduced, which is in agreement with the MFA results discussed
from the rest of the year (in terms of food waste). Hence, the reality in Section 3.3.3.
of food waste during Ramadan was also probed as part of our MFA The results in Fig. 8 evidently suggest that the performance of
studies. The MFA results in Fig. 5 include two events at the same the canteen (in terms of food waste generation) has much
property (A1), one buffet service during Ramadan (an Iftar, which is improved in 2013 compared to 2012. This was because, when
the main meal that Muslims have at the time of breaking their fast deciding how much to cook in 2013 the canteen staff considered
at sunset) and a lunch buffet after Ramadan. It is noticed that, from the 2012 statistics for the same time of year. As a result, food service
the perspective of percentage of waste from serving dishes (13% for establishments can learn from past waste generation statistics and
the Iftar buffet versus 21% for the lunch buffet) and percentage of minimize their waste (Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA),
food eaten (53% for the Iftar buffet versus 36% for the lunch buffet), 2014).
the event during Ramadan has performed much better overall Similarly, the waste values of Fig. 9 show how, for all months,
(greater proportion of food consumed and smaller proportion the waste generated in 2013 was less than that generated in 2012.
wasted). This is mainly due to the fact that the number of guests A reduction of food waste by more than 50% from 2012 to 2013
who actually attended the Iftar buffet was almost equal to the ex- was found for the months of April, May, June, July and October. On
pected number (the show-up rate was 48/50), while the lunch the other hand, December and January witnessed the least
buffet had only about a 50% guest fulfillment rate. This is generally a improvement in waste generation between 2012 and 2013. This
common observation, where UAE restaurants usually function at may be due to the fact that during December and January, many
full capacity during the Iftar meal in Ramadan. Therefore, one can members of the Masdar Institute community are on vacation
conclude that, regardless of when an event is, one of the most while others, who are around, have the time to go outside Masdar
significant factors affecting the amount of food waste generated in a Institute and eat at other locations. Such factors make it difficult
hospitality establishment is the guest show-up ratio, and this for the canteen (which offers buffet service for all three meals) to
shows how important it is for hotels to work on improving it. utilize previous statistics with confidence when deciding how
It could indeed be concluded from our MFA studies that, much food should be prepared, leading to a greater amount of
generally, the properties which had the least percentage of food food waste generated.
consumed were those with the lowest guest show-up rates. As Consequently, the data presented in Figs. 8 and 9 shows how it is
another example, according to the MFA results of the lunch buffet at possible for an establishment to learn from past waste generation
property B1 (which had the lowest show-up rate of 18 actual statistics to minimize its waste, even if it has only one year's worth
guests/38 expected guests) (Fig. 6(c)), only 22% of the food was of data to use as reference (the current management of the canteen
eaten, and this was also the event with the greatest percentage of started operations at the end of October 2011). Moreover, the
waste from serving dishes. In the same way, the event where the Masdar Institute canteen has been able to show this improvement
greatest percentage of food was eaten (82%) was the breakfast in waste generation despite the fact that the number of guests it has
buffet at property B2 (Fig. 6(b)), which had the second-highest been catering to has been steadily increasing for the past few years.
show-up rate (191 actual guests/220 expected guests) after the Such strategies may also be used by hotels to minimize their food
Iftar buffet at property A1. waste generation, but for this to be possible; they must be tracking
What was interesting about the lunch buffet of property A3 was the food waste they generate in the first place.
that the number of guests who attended the food service was more
than expected, forcing the kitchen staff to do significant last minute 3.3.5. Food service organization
food preparation. As a result, a significant quantity of unconsumed During the lunch buffet at property A3 (Fig. 7(a)), the larger
food resulted, which included food that had been put in the serving plates which were to be used by the guests for the main course
dishes at a very advanced stage of the buffet service but in the end were placed on shelves under the serving display. As a result, many
was in excess. Though some of that food was saved for later use guests did not notice these larger plates and instead filled all the
(8%), a larger portion of it was still disposed of (22%), as seen in the food they needed in multiple smaller plates which were more
MFA results reported in Fig. 7(a). This shows the flip side of erring in visible and more easily accessible. Previous studies have shown
predicting customer demand; that is, the risk the hotels endure that using smaller plates can lead to less food waste (Kallbekken
when trying to cook less. Even if the intention may be to reduce and Sælen, 2013), but if the guests are able to use as many plates
food wastage, food waste may increase substantially due to un- as they want (as was the case here), this strategy may not be very
planned last-minute preparation. effective, as is clear from the significant amount of plate waste
generated at the A3 lunch buffet.
3.3.4. Season In the traditional lunch buffet (Fig. 7(b)), it is interesting to note
The seasonal variation of food waste generation studied here that so much of the food went to waste despite the fact that the
was that of the Masdar Institute canteen. The food waste generation event had a full attendance rate (the actual number of guests was
data obtained from the canteen is plotted in Figs. 8 and 9, which equal to the expected number of guests). This may have been
Food waste per day - 2012 Food waste per guest per day - 2012
6 0.2
a 0.18
5 0.16
Kg/guest/day
4 0.14
0.12
Kg/day 3 0.1
0.08
2 0.06
1 0.04
0.02
0 0
Food waste per day - 2013 Food waste per guest per day - 2013
3.5 0.045
b 0.04
3
0.035
2.5
Kg/guest/day
0.03
Kg/day
2 0.025
1.5 0.02
0.015
1
0.01
0.5 0.005
0 0
Fig. 8. Masdar Institute canteen data: average food waste generated on each day of the week in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.
2012 2013
180
160
Total Monthly Food Waste (kg)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Fig. 9. Masdar Institute canteen data: values for the total monthly food waste generated.
because the guests had been at the venue from early that morning chef could keep in mind the types of meals/refreshments being
and prior to the lunch had had two coffee breaks. As a result, they served to guests on a single day and their frequency, if applicable.
were probably not very hungry by lunch time. Consequently, to What is more, with respect to the traditional lunch buffet, the food
promote effective food waste management for a certain event, the for the lunch was actually provided by an external caterer and so
having multiple parties involved could have also facilitated the et al., 2013) while most PCFW is undisputedly unavoidable. In
greater amount of waste. addition, as a result of our MFA study it was clear to us that PCFW
The wedding buffet at property A2 (Fig. 5) was the only event was a very significant factor in the UAE and we have therefore
which donated food to a charity organization. This was due to the constructed the FRESH number equation accordingly. Another
fact that this was a large event at the end of which untouched indicator which considers preparation waste more specifically
leftovers were enough to make it worthwhile for the charity or- could also potentially be devised.
ganization to come and take this food. In addition, property A1 was The definition of FRESH is shown in Equation (1). An illustration
the only establishment which gave some of the leftover food to its of the FRESH number calculation, based on the MFA results ob-
staff, for both the events monitored there. This may have been due tained through this study, is shown in Table 3. The lower the value
to the fact that property A1 was the smallest establishment of the FRESH number, the more sustainable the service/event is
included in this study and so it had less staff and the different areas with regards to food waste minimization and mitigation.
of the hotel devoted to food and beverage operations were in closer
proximity relative to other hotels. Therefore, giving the food to the FRESH No: ¼ ½normalized PCFW ½show up indicator
staff was very easy to arrange.
½planning indicator ½portion size indicator
With regards to the food saved for later use, this was done by
both the B type properties monitored as part of this work. For these ½economies of scale indicator
hotels, this was a strategy which they prided themselves on, ½reuse indicator
making sure they saved food to use in subsequent operations where
(1)
HACCP restrictions permitted. For instance, they used the un-
touched pastries from the breakfast to make a popular Arabic Each of the terms of Equation (1) is described below:
dessert. This shows how food waste minimization-promoting pol-
icies may be integrated into the strategy of a hotel and how effec- - Normalized PCFW: this is a measure of the PCFW/guest which is
tive using leftovers can be in reducing food waste. Indeed, it was actually generated at the event. Equation (2) shows how, as the
amongst the strategies used by London restaurants to prevent 70 amount of PCFW increases, the normalized PCFW also increases,
stones of waste (Houghton, 2014). which leads to a greater FRESH number (as per Equation (1)) and
the event is considered less sustainable.

PCFW
normalized PCFW ¼ (2)
actual number of guests that attended the event
3.4. Quantifying food service sustainability in the hospitality sector

- Show-up indicator: This is a representation of the number of
guests who actually attended the event relative to the number of
As a result of everything we were able to learn until this point
guests who were expected, as shown in Equation (3). A lower
about food waste in the hospitality sector, via all of the interviews
value for this indicator would give some break to the estab-
conducted and MFA data collected, we would hereby like to
lishment management (by lowering the FRESH number) since
propose a formula for an indicator which can be used to evaluate
food waste generation due to a fraction of expected guests not
the performance of any event in the hospitality sector with
showing up at the event is not the fault of the establishment
regards to its food service sustainability. This is a number that
(which may have prepared food as per the number provided by
could potentially be used to evaluate and compare food service
a client, for example). As a result, this component of the FRESH
events all over the world and especially in the Middle East. This
number equation may also be referred to as the ‘show-up
indicator is necessary as it provides a way for establishments to
adjustment value’. Still, penalizing the food service establish-
independently assess the sustainability of the events which they
ment for poor planning that is within its control is captured in
organize. By combining the effect of so many different variables
subsequent indicators.
into a single number, this indicator would help establishments to
asses themselves, help authorities to assess the establishments,
and help prospective guests/clients to assess the establishments
actual number of guests
as well. This number will be referred to as the FRESH number show up indicator ¼ (3)
expected number of guests
(Food waste Rating for Events vis-a -vis Sustainability in the
Hospitality sector). FRESH is obtained as the multiplied product of
an event's normalized PCFW with five indicators, each of which
reflect a dimension of the food service process, which may pro- - Planning indicator: This fraction reflects the extra food amount
mote or hinder its sustainability by influencing the amount of which the kitchen staff of a hospitality establishment deliber-
food waste generated. Though the amount of preparation food ately prepared. This indicator is calculated as shown in Equation
waste is used to calculate the FRESH number (since it is required (4).
to calculate the amount of food eaten by the guests), the FRESH
number does give more weightage to the PCFW. This is because,
even though studies report that the amount of losses in food number of guests cooked for
planning indicator ¼ (4)
preparation may equal the losses in serving (Marthinsen et al., expected number of guests
2012), it may be argued that it is only certain types of prepara-
The greater the difference between the expected number of
tion waste which may be considered to be unavoidable (Parfitt
guests and the number of guests cooked for (assuming the
Table 3
Values for the FRESH number and its determinants.
Event Iftar buffet Lunch buffet Wedding A la carte e Breakfast Lunch buffet Lunch buffet A la carte Lunch buffet Traditional lunch
monitored e property e property buffet e property B1 buffet e e property e property dinner e e property buffet e property
A1 A1 property A2 property B2 B1 C1 property C2 A3 D
Actual number 48 16 300 31 191 18 150 54 94 300

of guests
Expected 50 30 400 31 220 38 98 54 50 300
number of
guests
Number of 55 33 440 35 242 42 108 60 55 330
guests
cooked for
Mass of 155.7 78 1309.7 27.1 112.5 25.3 216.7 15 N/A N/A
ingredients
(kg)
Preparation 14.1 24.2 247.5 2.8 5.5 3.3 26.5 3 N/A N/A
waste (kg)
Amount of 141.7 53.8 1062.2 24.4 107 22 190.2 12 115.4 825
food
prepared
(kg)
Amount of 82.55 28.5 692.72 21.01 92.3 4.8 123.05 8 67.55 457.55
food eatena
(kg)
Food saved 0 0 0 0 2 1.2 0 0 9 0
(kg)
Food 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 367.5
composted
(kg)
Food going to 33.9 21.6 280 3.4 14.7 13.9 67.1 4 47.9 0
the landfill
(kg)
Food donated 25.2 3.7 89.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
(kg)
PCFW (kg) 59.1 25.3 369.5 3.4 14.7 13.9 67.1 4 47.9 367.5
FRESH no. 1.487 0.596 0.894 0.099 0.055 0.605 1.424 0.093 2.459 1.751
a
Calculated as the balance between ingredients mass and all the other quantities.
number of guests cooked for has a value greater than the ex-
pected number of guests, as is usually the case), the greater the amount of food prepared
planned portion size ratio ¼ (6)
contribution of this indicator to the value of the FRESH number. number of guests cooked for
This appropriately indicates a less sustainable event since this
greater difference means more PCFW. Regarding the value for the
amount of food eaten
number of guests cooked for used in the calculation of the FRESH actual portion size ratio ¼ (7)
number for some of the events monitored (as shown in Table 3),
this value was not always obtained from the hotels at the time of Like the planning indicator, a large value for the portion size
conducting the data collection and so, for the sake of demon- indicator reflects poor planning on the part of the kitchen admin-
stration in this paper, it was assumed that at such events the istration and so appropriately leads to a higher value for the FRESH
amount of food prepared was for 10% more guests than the ex- number. It is impossible for this indicator to have a value lower than
pected number of guests. As we were told during some of our one.
interviews, this strategy is usually adopted by hotels to plan how
much food to prepare. Alternatively, it was learned during the - Economy of scale indicator: on a total mass basis, an event
interviews that other hotels cook just for the expected number of catering to 1000 guests having serving dishes waste which is
clients or even less than that number in the case of slow-moving 10% of its input ingredients may be considered less sustainable
dishes. Other hotels ask their clients to provide two numbers, the than an event which caters to 20 guests and also has 10% serving
“guaranteed” and the “expected” number of guests, and then the dishes waste. This is due to economies of scale and is the theory
kitchen staff will cook for 20% more than the guaranteed number behind including this indicator in the FRESH number equation.
of guests. Equation (8) shows how this term is calculated:
- Portion size indicator: This is a ratio between the amount which

the kitchen staff expected each guest would eat and the amount
each guest actually ate, as is clear from Equation (5). " !#5
1 mass ofPCFW
ingredients
economy of scale indicator ¼ 1
planned portion size ratio
portion size indicator ¼ (5) (8)
actual portion size ratio
The exponent ‘n’ can potentially have any value. It would be
Where determined by the user depending on what the priority is in his/her
assessment. We tested the values of 1e10 for ‘n’ and assessed the with property A3), the event can have a maximum number of
effect on the economics of scale indicator for the events which we guests specified beforehand so that if more guests than the
were calculating the FRESH number for. The range of values ob- maximum limit arrive, the hotel staff can politely inform them that
tained for the economics of scale indicator at n ¼ 1 was the mini- the buffet is closed for any additional guests. Nevertheless, the high
mum range and had a value of 0.04. The corresponding value for value of the FRESH number for property A3 shows how, when the
n ¼ 10 represented the maximum range and had a value of 0.33. number of guests is much greater than expected, due to the last-
Consequently, we decided to arbitrarily choose the value of 5 since minute food preparation, the food waste generated oftentimes is
it was the intermediate value. It helped to differentiate the much more than would have been predicted for such an event in
numbers obtained for different events sufficiently while not having normal circumstances. The breakfast buffet had the lowest FRESH
a more significant effect on the overall FRESH number than was number, and that is in confirmation with what has already been
desired. discussed earlier about breakfast buffets. It is interesting to note
that although the lunch buffets at properties A1 and B1 had large
- Reuse indicator: This indicator is calculated using Equation (9). It values of waste/guest due to the low show-up rates at these events,
helps to influence the FRESH number from the perspective of these events still scored well as far as the FRESH number is con-
what is done with the PCFW at the conclusion of the event. cerned due to the adjustment of the show-up indicator already

ðfood sent to the landfillÞ þ ð2*food compostedÞ þ ð3*food donatedÞ þ ð4*food savedÞ
reuse indicator ¼ 1 (9)
10*PCFW
Saving excess food for subsequent events is considered to be described. In addition, both a la carte events did well in terms of
most environmentally favorable, followed by donating the food their FRESH numbers. In an ideal situation, there would be negli-
(either to charities or by giving it to the hotel staff) followed by gible PCFW and so the value of the FRESH number would be zero.
composting; and finally by landfilling, as the least environmentally
favorable option. This preference is integrated into the equation via 3.5. Carbon and water footprint of the food waste
the coefficients for each of these categories. The more favorable
options have higher coefficients and this translates to a lower reuse Table 4 shows the various impacts of some of the events
indicator value. In addition, this preference is in accordance with monitored as part of this study, accounting not only for the amount
the food waste management hierarchy which defines the different of waste which each of them sent to the landfill (thus including
food waste management options in order of most environmentally preparation waste), but also shedding some light on the water and
favorable to least favorable as follows: source reduction, feeding carbon footprint of this landfilled waste. As a result, these footprint
people in need, feeding livestock, composting and generating values are just a percentage of the total event footprint (the total
renewable energy, and then disposal (i.e., landfill/incineration) event footprint would consider all the raw ingredients used for that
(Feeding the 5000 Steering Group, 2011). The food waste man- event). In addition, the excess food which was prevented from
agement hierarchy is a specific version of the general waste man- going to the landfill, as a result of donation or saving for a subse-
agement hierarchy which defines the different waste management quent meal, is not included in the footprint calculations, and these
options in order of most environmentally favorable to least favor- savings are specified in the ‘Comments’ column of Table 4. It must
able as follows: prevention, minimization, reuse, recycling, energy be mentioned here that we do not know how much of this food
recovery, and disposal (EHS Global Solutions, 2008). When more which was diverted from the landfill was actually utilized and how
environmentally favorable options are adopted at the end of the much of it may have eventually ended up in the landfill anyway.
event, the smaller value of the reuse indicator helps reduce the However, as far as the scope of this study is concerned, it was
FRESH number, reflecting a more environmentally sustainable assumed that all the diverted food was completely consumed.
event and vice versa. The improved performance of the breakfast buffet and a la carte
The FRESH number values for the different events monitored as events in terms of food waste sustainability is reinforced by Table 4
part of this study are shown in Table 3, along with the values of the as a result of the lower footprints of these events. Moreover, when
event parameters used to calculate the FRESH number. As already considering the footprint of the waste landfilled by an event, and
mentioned, the lower the value of the FRESH number, the more taking the example of the wedding buffet which was the largest
sustainable the event is from the perspective of food waste man- event monitored, the water footprint was found to be more than 0.6
agement. From Table 3, it is clear that, using the FRESH number as million liters. This water footprint is enough to fulfill the daily
an indicator, the least sustainable event was the lunch buffet at water needs of more than 17,000 people (International Fund for
property A3 due to the fact that the number of guests who actually Agricultural Development (IFAD), 2014), and we are only discus-
came was almost double the number of expected guests and also sing one event. The corresponding footprints for all events in all of
due to the high value of the portion size indicator for this event. In Abu Dhabi, all of the UAE, and all the Gulf countries would un-
this case, the event was penalized for more guests showing up than doubtedly have values many times greater.
expected, and though it may be felt that this was not the fault of the
establishment, that need not always be the case, depending on the 4. The way forward
type of event. For example, if a hotel is hosting a wedding reception
for a certain client, then there is not much it can do if more guests As a result of the MFA studies conducted as part of this work, it
show up than expected; it must do last-minute food preparation to may be concluded that in order to reduce food waste, the conver-
cater to these extra guests. However, if the event is just a regular sion of lunch and dinner buffets to a la carte service should be
lunch buffet where guests simply pay as they arrive (as was the case strongly promoted. This is supported by our results which have
Table 4
Water and carbon footprints for the waste going to the landfill after selected events (calculated using Carbon Neutral, 2011; Forester Media Inc., 2013; Hoekstra, 2011;
Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2011, 2012;Richards, 2013).
Event monitored Iftar buffet e Lunch buffet e Wedding buffet e A la carte e Breakfast buffet e property Lunch buffet e
property A1 property A1 property A2 property B1 B2 property C1
Waste going to the landfill (kg) 48 45.8 527.5 6.1 18.2 93.6
Average water footprint of the 84.5 76.4 611.8 20.4 33.6 147.1
waste (m3)
Average carbon footprint of the 285 150 2158 27 48 627
waste (kg CO2e)
Number of guests served 48 16 300 31 191 150
Waste going to the landfill/guest 1 2.86 1.76 0.2 0.1 0.62
(kg/guest)
Average water footprint/guest of 1761 4775 2039 659 176 980
the waste (m3/guest)
Average carbon footprint/guest 5.94 9.38 7.19 0.88 0.25 4.18
of the waste (kg CO2e/guest)
Comments 43% of the PCFW 15% of the PCFW 24% of the PCFW was All PCFW was 13% of the PCFW was saved All PCFW was
was given to staff. was given to staff. donated to Hefth Al Ne'ma. sent to the for a subsequent meal. sent to the
landfill. landfill.
shown the improved performance of a la carte events and breakfast places than in others, due to the nature of the guests frequenting
buffets both in terms of amounts of food waste generated and in the property and their behavioral tendencies, this is something
terms of FRESH values. which eventually needs to be addressed by hotels and canteens all
In contrast, a strategy which may be executed by authorities to over the world, perhaps through “internal communication and
increase the diversion rate of food waste at all large events is, as dialogue with the guests” (Marthinsen et al., 2012). Moreover, food
mentioned at the end of Section 3.1, for them to encourage inter- waste is a type of waste that is very difficult to reuse, and so once
national hotel chains to donate food to the local charities, while wasted by the guest and once it has been subject to certain con-
assuring them that as long as they have performed their due dili- ditions, there is little the staff can do to preserve the food. Yes, it
gence and gotten the charities to sign a disclaimer, any possible may be used to produce compost or energy, but, as per the food
negative impacts of the food they donate would not be held against waste hierarchy, this is generally not considered as favorable an
them. alternative relative to the food actually being used to feed people
From the perspective of environmental sustainability, the (Papargyropoulou et al., 2014).
improvement of food waste management practices of the hos- All the abovementioned points are much easier said than
pitality sector should be a pivotal part of its overall green strat- done; indeed putting technological solutions into place is much
egy. This issue must be addressed not only by the staff of the easier than changing the way people think and it may be noted
establishments working at the different stages of the food service that our recommendations are more related to the guests' context
process, but the establishment administration must also draw as opposed to the hotel staff context. Indeed, there are many
out strategies which would encourage guests to generate less studies and reports which reflect on the activities that hotel staff
food waste themselves or encourage them to participate in can engage in to reduce food waste, including maintaining better
strategies which ultimately help to minimize the food waste inventory of ingredients and revising menus to serve less wasteful
produced. We would like to make this recommendation since it is dishes (Dyson, 2014; Food Wise Hong Kong, 2013; Lalonde, 2013;
clear from our MFA study that plate waste can be quite a sig- Resource Efficient Scotland, 2013; Tuppen, 2014), and as our hotel
nificant portion of the overall food waste generated at an event; interviews indicated many hotels were already engaging in such
and it can only be reduced through the effective awareness of the activities. However, there is a limit to what can be achieved
guests visiting these establishments. For example, even the a la through these measures. At the end of the day, the hotels prepare
carte event MFAs discussed reported a significant amount of plate food to serve their guests, so if the guests act in a more envi-
waste. Continuing with the topic of guest involvement in food ronmentally responsible manner, it would definitely have rami-
waste management solutions strategies, even events which were fications on the amount of food waste generated. The hotels may
cooking on demand using live cooking stations tended to waste a be very sustainable in their preparation operations but if only half
substantial amount of food as a result of the large variety they the people who were supposed to come to the event actually
were offering to please their guests. What is more, factors such as show up then there is not much which the hotels can do. And if
the show-up rate and the abundant presentation of food, which the hotels have been paid in advance or if costs of waste disposal
we have seen to be contributing in no small way to the amount of are not a significant issue for the hotels, then such occurrences
food waste generated, can only be improved as a result of the would not necessarily be of much concern for the hotel admin-
cooperation/consent of the public. In the case of the former istration either. Schools in the UAE are increasingly teaching
factor, the guests could reply to invitations to events in a children about issues related to food waste and it is hopefully
responsible manner so that the establishment can cook for the through these children that tangible change will take root and
event while keeping more accurate numbers in mind, helping to subsequently spread throughout the population. Nevertheless,
reduce food waste. In the case of the latter, the public needs to these are measures which must be implemented if the situation is
adopt a mindset where lavish displays of food are not required at to improve fast enough and if more sustainable operations are to
social events, and, by extension, it is acceptable if a certain dish be put into place. These measures, though organized by the ho-
runs out at an event or a smaller variety of food is provided to the tels/restaurants, are carried out with the direct cooperation of the
guests. guests (e.g. using an effective RSVP system for events), and it is
Though the promotion of the participation of guests in food these strategies which we are planning to test as part of the
waste minimization strategies is addressed more easily in some second phase of this research.
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Acknowledgments
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

Reduction of food waste generation in the hospitality industry

1. Introduction lead to a signiﬁcant increase in the hospitality industry's environ-

2013) though many of the reports available do not mention the

a b correlation tests are shown in Table 2 where the Variable 1 category

Ownership 0.192 1 0.165 0.165 1

I ar Buﬀet – Property A1 Lunch Buﬀet – Property A1

Fig. 7. MFA Sankey Diagrams for various types of events.

3.4. Quantifying food service sustainability in the hospitality sector

Actual number 48 16 300 31 191 18 150 54 94 300

- Portion size indicator: This is a ratio between the amount which

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