Reducing Food Waste and Boosting Sustainable Impact in a Corporate Canteen

Circular transformation in foodservice is achievable, scalable, and measurable.

FOODturo

Project Period: April 2024 – March 2025

Client: Department of Labour and Economic Development, City of Munich

Implementation Partners: Circular Munich, Charlie & Lars, Change Corporation (Founding partners of FOODturo)

Project Context and Objective

The "Circular Kitchen Model" pilot was initiated as part of the City of Munich’s program on sustainable business and food waste reduction. Its objective: to test and adapt circular economy practices tailored for the foodservice sector. A corporate canteen serving approx. 1,300 meals daily was selected to trial feasible and impactful circular actions.

The focus was on reducing food waste and CO₂ emissions while enhancing operational efficiency and profitability. Six areas along the gastronomic cycle were targeted: Procurement, Storage, Production, Distribution, Return, and Reprocessing.

Implementation Approach

·        Initial Focus Areas: Production, food distribution, and plate returns

·        Methods: Operational analysis, team workshops, low-threshold measures, guest involvement

·        Team Enablement: Kitchen staff received guidance to implement circular actions autonomously

A circular gastronomy framework developed by the project team was applied, grounded in real-world pilot projects and adapted to the company's operational scale and structure.

Key Results

·        Food Waste Baseline:

• 8% of total food purchases ended as waste

• 4.8% of meals served were not consumed – of which 15.6% were pizza crusts

• 54.2% of food waste originated in the kitchen; 44.5% came from guest leftovers

·        Impact of Portion Size Adjustment:

A simple reduction in pizza size decreased uneaten crusts from 30.1% to 11.85%, representing:

• −18.82% waste in one week

• −18% CO₂ emissions for that menu item

• Guests wasted significantly less when offered half portions

·        Guest Engagement:

Quiz cards and data displays on food waste and circular practices sparked interest and awareness.

·        Kitchen Team Involvement:

Staff ideas were discussed and partly implemented; regular check-ins and feedback loops established momentum.