Addressed to the Company Canteens of La Defense

REDUCTION OF FOOD WASTE

# THEGUIDE

ADDRESSED TO THE COMPANY CANTEENS OF LA DEFENSE

Version of30/09/2016

Introduction

Food waste today represents in France more than 10 million tons of pure loss each year, of which 1.5 million tons arises from corporate[1] catering.Even though this problem is more and more prevalent in the public debate and is better accounted by the lawmakers, the sector of institutional catering still has difficulty in implementing concrete actions for the reduction of the food waste. Within the sector, the reduction of waste is often seen as a logistic puzzle and remains largely associated with legal responsibilities linked to food donation. Nevertheless, numerous actions are possible. The objective of this operational guide is to propose detailed information, contacts of key actors/partners on the subject, concrete solutions adapted to the context of la Défense, in order to eventually facilitate the efforts of restaurants of companies who wish to take initiative in this regard.

This guide is the result of a work carried out in the framework of the Open Source Circular Economy Days (OSCE Days)[2],which brings together and connects every year experts, innovators and enthusiasts through numerous workshops and which takes place simultaneously in about fifty partner cities around the world, for the objective of exploring the multiple ways in which the open source can serve the circular economy. SUEZ is a partner of the event since its creation in 2015.

In this context, in June 2016, Future of Waste[3]and SUEZ co-organised a workshop on the reduction of food waste within the staff canteenat the tower CB 21 of La Défense. The initiative, which took place on 13th June 2016, brought together Magalie Eyen, Services Manager for the occupants at the Logistic Direction of SUEZ, Christophe Delattre, of the association occupying the Tower, Nora Hafoud, Quality Manager of MRS[4] (company canteen), Pierre Mauduit, Director Engagements of MRS, Myriam Fabioux, Consultant catering with NCIS’R, Lydia Bodis, Chief of projects SUEZ Recyclage & Valorisation France. Furthermore, the fight against food waste is today structured around an ecosystem of committed actors: entrepreneurs, NGOs, companies, public authorities. This is why the entrepreneurs and the following representatives of associations also participated actively in this workgroup: Julien Meimon ofChaînon Manquant, Caroline Delboy ofWhatthefood/DiscoSoupe, Ludivine VajouofTakeAway, and Didier Girard ofCentre Hospitalier du Mans.The discussions and the contributions of the different participants have largely contributed in structuring the present Guide, which has equally benefitted from the clarity brought by various different stakeholders through upstream interviews conducted with the experts on the subject. SUEZ today is building its policy for the fight against food waste within the Tour CB 21, and considers sharing the results of this experiment in 2017. However, we considered it useful to publish presently the first results of this route.

Table of content

Estimate of food waste in La Défense

Why reduce the food waste in La Défense?

Understanding the sources of food waste

Estimating food loss through the implementation of a diagnosis

Details of stage 1: Meeting with the staff of canteen

Details of stage 2: Quantitative diagnosis

Details of stage 3: Qualitative survey with the guests

Details of stage 4: analysis of results and recommendations

Reduction of food waste by implementation of adapted solutions (propositions)

1. Refine the projection of guests’ flow

2. Re-imagining the space to change behavior

3. Modify the tariff structure to promote a more responsible consumption

4. Sensitize the staff and guests regarding food waste

5. Facilitate the re-use of surplus

Estimate of food waste in La Défense

Some of the figures[5]of food waste in La Défense:

With respect to these figures, how much doesthe food waste amount to in the district of La Défense?

The attempts in quantifying food waste in private company canteens is rare in France (and, all the more,in La Défense)and remains focused on school canteens. To our knowledge, in France, only the Ministry of Agriculturein 2011 released a first estimation of food waste in corporate catering: 125 g/meal/person (with 35,4g standard deviation)[6]. This estimation is not based on an operation of rigorous weighingof the rest of the preparationsand the meal at the end of the service, but on the interviews with the professionals of the sector. The only other study relatively recent on the subject and based in Europe, led by Engström & Carlsson-Kanyama, proposes arange of 94 to 114 g/meal/person, based on a diagnosticled in 2001 by two commercial restaurants in center of Stockholm[7].

Although these figures do not correspond directly to the situation of La Défense, we have selected, for our estimation of food wastage in La Défense, to take the bracket of 94 to 125 g/meal/person in order to estimate the food wastage taking place in the business district of Paris. These results will be further refined in autumn 2016 owing to the figures of diagnosis conducted within the restaurant of the tower CB 21 of La Défense. Based on this bracket and accounting for a base of 147000 employees out of which 14.44% are on vacation on a daily basis (on the base of 7.5 weeks of vacation per year), our evaluation reveals thatin La Défense, between 12 and 16 tons of foodstill edible is thrown every day in the in the company canteens.

Why reduce the food waste in La Défense?

It is possible

As illustrated by the solutions presented in the following sections, there are numerous ways to reduce food wastage, which are made possible with the necessary human, logistic or financial resources. On the other hand, the subject of the fight against wastageimplicates various actors todaywho canefficiently accompanythe company canteen in the implementation of actions against wastage (cf. box «Focus on an actorof the sector»in the following part of this document).

It is economically appealing

Despite the fact that there are no estimations for the canteens, the studies of ADEME carried out on the school canteens shows that the implementation of actionsagainst food wastage canallow substantial savings. According to ADEME, the economic loss due to food wastage amounts to 30to 40,000 euros each yearfor one school canteenserving 500 guests and 200 meals during the year[8].

Besides, the act of food gift leads to fiscal advantages:tax reduction at the level of 60% of gifts andwithin the limit of 5/1000 of their turnover.

The law demands it

On 19th January 2012, the European Parliament adopted a resolution to divide by two the food waste in Europe by 2025 and by demanding the Commission to set specific objectives regarding prevention of food waste for member states. The following year, France took back this objective and declined an action plan via thePacte National de Lutte Contre le Gaspillage Alimentaire[9], signed by the big actors of the retailers (Auchan, Carrefour, Metro etc.) and also be several labor unions of canteens, the region Ile-de-France, Basse Normandie and the city of Paris amongst several organizations.

The actors make a commitment to:

Enroll themselves for procurement contracts of corporate catering for the clauses of reduction of food waste;

Indicate in the National plan for the prevention of waste specific axes of action regarding the fight against food waste.

The representatives of corporate catering make a commitment in particular in the pact to:

Lead awareness-raising activitieswith their clients, their guests, their collaborators and suppliers;

Lead prevention initiativesand improve the professional practices to fight against food waste, particularly by thecapitalizationof best practices and their diffusion ;

Make a guideto frame and develop the usage of « takeaway bags », which may be possibly offered to clients to take away their non-consumed portions.

Since2015, the fight against food wastebecame a legal binding reality with the French law n° 2016-138 relating to fight against food waste, promulgated on11thFebruary 2016, and appeared in the official journal on 12thFebruary 2016, which introduced the following constraints:the food distributors must utilize their unsold products, through donation, animal feed or for purposes of compost or energy recovery. Besides,it places itself in the fight against food wastein the social and environmental responsibility of companies.

Finally, the order of 12th July 2011 fixes thresholds defined in the article R 543-225 of Code de l’environnement[10], Official Journal of 23rdJuly 2011 indicates that from 2016 all organisations (restaurants, centralized kitchens and laboratories of food production) producing more than 10 tons of organic waste and 60 liters of used oilevery year is considered asa «big producer» of organic waste and hence has to account for it.

The action of the government will probably continue to step up. Indeed,theGarot report, appeared in 2015, is the cornerstone of the government’s reflection on this subject, already motivates the commercial and collective caterers[11] to train their cooks for the fight against food waste, to be attentive towards portions served and promote doggy bags.

It is a territorial issue for La Défense

The urban development policy of De Facto, public institution of management of La Défense business district,turns resolutely towards sustainable development, with a larger square granted to green spaces, a redesigning of transport system, the first shared garden of La Défense in 2016…

Additionally, with more than1,000 homeless people living in parkingof La Défense[12], the question of food waste takes a particular importance. To our knowledge, no company restauranthas put in place mechanisms for food donation at the level of the district[13].

Understanding the sources of food waste

Is considered as wastage «any food intended for human consumption which, in a stage of food chain, is lost, thrown, degraded»

National Pact of fight against food wastage, June 2013

That food wastage intervenes in all stages of the food production chain.

Various interventions in all stages of production can reduce food wastage. The law of 11th February 2016 suggests to organize these interventionsaccording to the following order of priority:

It is the law which prescribes what is clean and proper for human consumption, according to the following logic.

For more information regarding the respect for sanitary conditions,please refer to the specific section: «Legal requirements for re-use of food surplus».

In order to identify the best solution for a given restaurant, it is advisable to set up a preliminary diagnosis, for minimum five days, where the quantity of discarded edible food is weighed in kitchen, during the service and after the return of trays. This step is crucial as it allows to identify the points of improvement and to direct the choice of the solutions to be adopted. The detailsfor the suggested procedure to conduct the diagnosis can be found in the following section.

Following the implementation of a diagnosis, it is advisable to determine the right actions to be undertaken in order to respond to the ascertained problems:it is the object of the last section of the Guide, which proposes a range of solutions envisaged by the working group on OSCE days, key contacts to support and accompany the interested companies in the implementation of a policy towards food waste reduction.

Estimating food loss through the implementation of a diagnosis

Progression of the project

Details of stage1:Meeting with the staff of canteen

Organizing a team meeting of one and a half hours, bringing together:

• The staff of kitchen
• The staff during service
• The administration staff

The aim is to:

• Explain the project, the implementation of diagnosis and the context in whichit is placed (reduction of food waste);
• Collect the perceptions of members of staff on food wastage, the identified causes and possible solutions in kitchen;
• Understand the logistic barriers relating to the execution of their activities;
• Collect the reactions of staff regarding the feasibility of diagnosis, and, in case, modify certain aspects to adapt to the constraints of staff(number of dustbins, for example).
• Evaluate the level of implication and identify the persons who wish to volunteer in the implementation of diagnosis.

The potential points to be raised during the meeting:

Theme / Possible questions
Evaluation of wastage / According to your assessment, what are the principal sources of wastage?
Whichimprovements/toolsseem necessary for youfor implementation within the kitchen(materiel, organization, competencies…)?
Would you know a particular initiativewhich seems interesting to you to test here?
(to service staff) According to your assessment, which are the principal consumption habits/trends of guests?
(to service staff) Have you collected demands/comments/complaints ofguests? If yes, which ones? Any particular demandsregarding portions (too much/not sufficient)?
Do you think that the portions that you serveis adapted to the hunger of guests?
(to administrative staff) What are the difficulties faced in terms of sourcing?
Implementation of diagnosis / Does the implementation of a diagnosis, for one week, seem feasible in regards to your daily activities?

Details of stage2:Quantitative diagnosis

Definitionof losses to be measured

This phase of diagnosis aims at weighingthestill edible foodstuffwhich is thrown each day during the meal. The non-consumable food waste (bones, peelings…) is not weighed and is thrown in a different bag/ container.

The diagnosis must measure the losses at all stages of production of wastage, specifically:

• In kitchen,
• During service,
• After return of trays.

In order to better understand the causes of wastage, it isimportant to segregate the foodstuff by type during the weighing. The following chart proposes a possible typology, to be adapted according to the situation.It is preferable to weigh the bread separately, since the reduction of wasteimplies separate actions.

Starter
Vegetables/Starch
Meat/Fish
Fruits/fruit salad
Cheese
Dessert
Bread

In order to obtain a realistic estimation, it is preferable to implement the weighing for minimum one week (five meals).

Number, type andlocation ofplastic bags for weighing

It is preferable that the food to be weighedis thrown intransparent trash bags, possibly labelled,to facilitate their identification. These trash bags canbe placed in each zone of waste production.

For each of these zones, it is thus relevant to appoint a referent zoneand to dispose:

• A labelled, transparent trash bagfor each of the categories of waste produced (starters, desserts, etc.);
• A labelled, transparent trash bag for non-consumable waste (bones, peelings, etc.).

For example, for a company canteenwith on-the-spot preparationneeds to arrange:

• A stockage zone for ingredients (freezer,…),
• A zone for preparation: cold dishes,
• A zone for preparation: hot dishes,
• A zone for preparation: desserts,
• Two zones for service to guests,
• Two points of deposit of trays.

The arrangement of bagsshould be made in the following manner:

This indicative tablecan be adapted/simplified according to the needs andpossibilities of canteen.

ZONE OFWASTE
PRODUCTION / NUMBER OF TRASH BAGS
Zone of stockage / 2 trash bags:
-1 bag of ingredients (vegetables, etc.) notutilizedbefore theirDLUO/DLC[14]
-1 bag of residues (non-edibleor consumed immediatelybut thrown in line with the regulations)
Zone ofpreparation: cold dishes / 3 trash bags:
-1 bag starter
-1 bag Fruits / fruit salad
-1 bag ofresidues (non-edible or consumed immediately but thrown in line with the regulations)
Zone ofpreparation: hot dishes / 3 trash bags:
-1 bag vegetables/starch
-1 bag meat/ Fish
-1 bag of residues (non-edible or consumed immediately but thrown in line with the regulations)
Zone of preparation: desserts / 2 trash bags:
-1 bag Desserts (ingredients not utilised)
-1 bag of residues (non-edible or consumed immediately but thrown in line with the regulations)
Zone service 1 / 8 trash bagsfor unserved prepared dishes:
-1 bag starter
-1 bag vegetables/starch
-1 bag Meat/Fish
-1 bag Fruits/fruit salad
-1 bag cheese
-1 bag Dessert
-1 bag bread
-1 bag of residues (non-edible or consumed immediately but thrown in line with the regulations)
Zone service 2 / Idem (8 bags)
Zone deposit of trays 1 / Idem (8 bags)
Zone deposit of trays 2 / Idem (8 bags)

Documenting the information

It is advisable to distribute the following tables to the referentsof each zone before the start of the diagnosis, fixed on the wallsand filled-up every dayat the end of serviceby the referent of weighings. At the end of the week, we retrievethe tables for analysis.

Zone of stockage

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
Ingredients not utilisedbefore theirDLUO/DLC

Zone of preparation: cold dishes

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
Starters
Fruits / fruit salads

Zone of preparation: hot dishes

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
Vegetables/ Starch
Meat / Fish

Zone of preparation: desserts

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
Desserts (desserts prepared not put in service, ingredients transformed not utilised)

Zones of service12and deposit of trays12

(a table for each of the 4 zones)

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
Starters
Meat / Fish
Vegetables / Starch
Desserts
Cheese
Bread
Fruits / Fruit salad

Human Resources

It is advisable to:

• Appoint a chief of projectin change of supervising the weighingand making the staff aware of the events;
• For each zone, appoint a referring zone in charge ofdocumentingat the tablesthe weighed quantities on a daily basis;
• Ensure that the trash bagsare arranged in a mannerthat does not disturb the staffwhile conducting their usual tasks. At the zones of deposit of trays, ensure that the waste segregationof the guestsis not too burdensome for the staff/ does not slow down too much the handling of trays. If needed, allocate one or two additional personsfor segregationof remaining of the guests, or simplify the methodology.

Detailsof stage3:Qualitative survey with the guests

The objective is to understand quickly, by sitting informally with the guests (in about fifteen tables), the causes of food wastageon the return of trays. One does not need written in-depth interviews: it is recommended to favor informal conversations.