Green Hospitality Network hosts Sustainable Food event to help tackle food waste
- Tuesday, July 22, 2025
- Posted By The Growth Company
Professionals from Greater Manchester’s restaurants, hotels, bars, venues and attractions joined forces for the Green Hospitality Network’s inaugural event all around sustainable food.
The Green Hospitality Network is a partnership between Marketing Manchester, Open Kitchen and Green Economy that aims to help organisations in the tourism and hospitality sector become greener and reap the rewards.
The network is a part of the Bee Net Zero campaign, which brings together strategic partners from across the region to help make Greater Manchester the easiest place to be a net zero business.
The networks first event was all around Sustainable Food and was delivered in partnership with pro-manchester.
Held at the Renold Innovation Hub at Sister, the event aimed to discuss the issue of food waste, what our region’s businesses can do to tackle it and build a sustainable food future as well as how to avoid green-washing when it comes to ingredients, suppliers and advertising food products.
Corin Bell, Executive Director at Open Kitchen, Manchester’s leading sustainable catering company hosted the event.
Bell explained that the main issue for food service businesses today is that it’s often cheaper to buy too much and throw it away than to risk not having enough for another sale, and that’s why food waste is becoming a growing problem across the world.
To give an idea of the size of the problem, she explained that if food waste was a country it would be the third largest emitter in the world after the US and China. In the UK alone, around 10m tonnes of food goes to waste each year.
As each ingredient and product has its own carbon footprint, there’s no way we can reach net zero and climate targets unless we address the food waste issue head on.
However, it’s a complex issue as currently catering is about over catering as customers and event attendees want options, so aiming for zero waste is tricky. For example, you need to factor in event drop outs, restaurant no shows, different appetites and the growing desire for options and choice.
Therefore Corin ,advised that our region’s hospitality businesses need to simply try their best to make positive changes, cutting down on the amount of food where they can and not be afraid to make mistakes as they embrace a sustainable food future.
· Reduce reuse recycle is an order of preference. You should always reduce first and ask what you actually need, then reuse and redistribute food in the most sustainable way possible and finally recycle and compost any food waste.
· Reduce the amount of snacks or food served at an event where possible – do you really need afternoon cakes for every attendee?
· Provide the option to take away food (preferably in compostable packaging) so that any food left over can be consumed at a later time
· Actively tell people that you’re trying to reduce food waste through signage and announcements - that way they’re more likely to take away leftovers, are less likely to complain about lack of choice
· Get evidence, set targets and report on everything so you know what progress is being made
· Avoid bold, vague statements if you can’t back them up with evidence and be suspicious of suppliers claiming to have certifications and accreditations
· Make sustainability mainstream within your organisation and use this as the lens through which every decision is made
· Remember, no product is perfect - every product or service has a Carbon footprint - but it’s about making good choices and trying to do better. Be honest about imperfections and making mistakes
Businesses in Greater Manchester’s tourism and hospitality sector can join the Green Hospitality Network to gain access to insights, support and regular events that will help support you embrace a sustainable future.
Events will cover a range of topics and provide opportunities to network with like-minded organisations within your sector also on the sustainability journey.