Fighting Food Waste in Airport Lounges

Sustainability remains critical in the airline industry and has only accelerated during the ongoing global pandemic. Airlines are doubling down on their commitments to become more carbon-neutral, eliminate single-use plastics and more, motivated by such factors as the decline we saw in global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 and consumer desire for more sustainable travel.

At Sodexo, we’re proud of our aggressive science-based target – a 34% reduction in absolute carbon emissions globally by 2025* – underpinned by actionable strategies to reduce emissions associated with clients’ on-site operations, like fighting food waste in the airport lounges we serve.

In the Asia-Pacific region, for example, our sustainable practices are yielding tangible results.

One of the main drivers of pre-pandemic waste was guests over-selecting food items, which has now been virtually eliminated with the new service style.

Angus Mackay, Vice President of Hospitality for Airline Lounges North America, notes similar success in his region. He does not expect the service model returning to that of the traditional buffet, and cites action stations, mobile pop-ups and other customer-centric solutions as likely replacements.