How can we create a sustainable event industry through targeting food waste?
This month our focus at Positive Impact is food waste! We believe this is a really important area in terms of both climate change and sustainability. By targeting food waste and food miles you can save money, have a positive impact on the local community, and also reduce your impact on the environment. In this way the choices we make about food contribute to economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Looking Forward
The event industry can have such a big impact on the environment, and we believe it is important to make this as positive as possible. Right now, with so much uncertainty in the world, it's important to do what we can for the planet by making small changes which together will make a big difference. As Selina Juul told us in our interview with her this month (scroll down to listen), 1/3 of all food being grown today goes straight to garbage. However, awareness about food waste is increasing internationally, so we hope that the future is bright for reducing food waste!
Background
During this food waste month, our aim is to raise awareness about food waste issues at events, bringing new ideas to the industry about the steps which can be taken to tackle these food problems.
Food at COP22
Positive Impact's Partnerships Manager, Emma Owens, was at COP22 this month representing Positive Impact and events! COP22 is a global climate change conference following on from the Paris Agreement which entered info force on 4th November 2016. While in Marrakesh she enjoyed the local food and drink available - including Moroccan tagines and traditional Moroccan Berber tea! Check out her blog posts from the events: Part 1: here, Part 2: here.
Interview with Selina Juul
We were lucky enough to get the chance to interview Selina Juul, founder of the Stop Wasting Food movement in Denmark. In the following interview she spoke to us about the role events can play in reducing food waste. Selina shares her thoughts on the issue, including the food waste 'trap' of buffets, as well as the need to plan more, do more, and communicate more! Scroll down to listen.
She's also written a guest blog on things we can do as individuals to limit food waste which you can check out here!
Interview with Tracy Stuckrath
Tracy Stuckrath - President and Chief Connecting Officer of Thrive! Meetings and Events - shared with us her thoughts on food and events. In the following interview she shares with us her thoughts on how we can engage the event industry in reducing food waste, as well as the easiest steps event organisers can take to start reducing food waste. Listen to the full interview below!