Buffets First in Line as Hotel Groups Tell UN They’ll Halve Food Waste

Operators including Accor and Hilton attended a United Nations event to launch an initiative to measure food waste, set targets for its reduction, and report progress annually.

The Recipe for Change pledge, drawn up by the UN and signed by all the companies present, will push towards smaller portions, cooking fresh food live in front of guests, more frequent replenishment, and tighter control over how food is served.

Despite serving just 0.5% of global meals, hotels account for 1% of food-related emissions and 3% of food waste, according to a 2024 report that put hotel operations under growing pressure from regulators.

For travel businesses, the issue is not just environmental. Food waste is an untracked cost for many hotels, with up to 15% of purchased food never consumed, according to the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA). 

At the event on Monday, the companies – including Constance Hotels and Resorts, Club Med, Group Pos