Award-winning AI technology helps IHG hotels track, measure and reduce food waste
Partnership with Winnow will help IHG hotels reduce food waste by one third |
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Award-winning AI technology helps IHG hotels track, measure and reduce food waste
Partnership with Winnow will help IHG hotels reduce food waste by one third |
Category: Worldwide - Industry economy
- Trends / Expert's advice
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2019-06-19
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced a partnership with technology company Winnow to help its hotels automatically track, measure and reduce food waste for more sustainable and efficient restaurant and bar operations.
IHG is the first global hotel company to use the award-winning Winnow Vision AI enabled technology, which will help its hotels achieve a 30% reduction in food waste. Through the use of an intelligent camera, smart scales and AI-based smart meter technology, Winnow Vision analyses ingredients during food preparation, as well as plates returned to the kitchen, to assess which food items are most wasted and in what quantities. This builds up a bank of data which in turn informs buying decisions, shapes menus and hones food preparation techniques.
Winnow’s technology has been successfully installed in seven IHG hotels in its Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa (EMEAA) region, with installation due in a further 30 properties in the coming months. One hotel already benefitting from this approach is InterContinental Fujairah Resort, UAE. In just six months, the resort has been able to reduce food waste by more than 50%. 60 more hotels in the EMEAA region have expressed their interest in signing up to the technology and IHG is currently exploring rollout to its other two regions – the Americas and Greater China.
The announcement comes on World Sustainable Gastronomy Day, which raises awareness on the role gastronomy can play in contributing to sustainable development, in support of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IHG is proud to directly drive a positive contribution towards a number of the SDGs, including goal number 12: responsible consumption and production.
Kenneth Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer, EMEAA, IHG, said: “With more than 5,600 hotels right across the world, a commitment to operating responsibly is at the heart of all we do. We know there’s always more that can be done to make a greater difference – whether that’s minimising waste through the removal of plastic straws or introducing innovative technology to reduce our environmental impact. Our partnership with Winnow will help our hotels be smarter and savvier in their approach to creating compelling menus that result in less waste whether it’s a grab-and-go breakfast, a family restaurant or a Michelin dining experience. I’m delighted that this is being led by some of our hotels in the Middle East, who are already seeing significant food waste reductions, and I’m looking forward to seeing this technology take off in more and more of our hotels around the world.”
Marc Zornes, Founder and CEO, Winnow, said: “Food waste is a global issue, and one that kitchens around the world are struggling with. Without visibility into what is being wasted, kitchens are wasting far more food than they think. It is a privilege to work with such a forward-thinking hospitality chain as IHG and help them become the first global hotel brand to significantly reduce food waste globally by using Artificial Intelligence while improving their responsible processes in their food and beverages offer.”
This partnership builds on IHG’s long-term commitment to minimise waste across all of its hotel estate and operations, beginning with its IHG Green Engage system, a well-established online sustainability programme, which recommends ways for IHG branded hotels worldwide to manage their waste more effectively. This includes guidance on how hotels can handle, store, recycle and dispose of waste both on and off-site, to minimise environmental impact and costs.
About IHGIHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels , HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, voco Hotels,
Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Resort,
avid hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,600 hotels and nearly 843,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 400,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.
About WinnowWinnow develops cutting-edge digital tools to help chefs run more profitable, sustainable kitchens. Launched in a single staff restaurant in 2013, Winnow is trusted today by thousands of chefs in over 40 countries, in whose kitchen’s food waste is consistently cut in half. Together Winnow and its partners are saving over 23 million meals a year from the bin: the equivalent of $33 million in food cost savings for our clients
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