Winning the War on Waste

Today, on International Day of Food Loss and Waste, we wish to educate readers on Sysco’s relentless war against food waste. We work continuously to ensure the food that doesn’t make the plate of a customer is redirected to alternative substitutes.

Our War-on-Waste team, a dedicated cross-functional team that meets weekly to brainstorm and drive initiatives, is leading the charge, with an ambitious goal: slashing food waste at its source by a whopping 12% year-on-year across the business.

Among our initiatives are:

• Harnessing our Sysco Store to drive potential excess through our weekly ‘focused critical’ list.
• Introducing a re-pack machine in Dublin OpCo to recoup damaged product.
• Increasing our stock accuracy checks by 100%.

Even with this system we still have surplus food and that is when we work directly with our incredible charity partners – FoodCloud and Fare Share NI. Both organisations redirect food to those who need it most. Since 2017 we have donated over one million meals to FoodCloud and our relationship with FareShare, while in its infancy, is getting stronger. Over the next few weeks, over 20 colleagues will volunteer at both charities, and will see first-hand the great work that they do.

The next step of our food waste fight then gets wild… or at least involves wild animals! Some of our excess and short-dated goods are part of the menu at Dublin Zoo. (see video below)

Finally, we have a plan for food that’s past its prime and is not suitable for human or animal consumption. We work with Food Surplus Management Limited (FSM), who take our excess food and break it down by anaerobic digestion. This method not only prevents the food from ending up in landfill but the process also captures the released methane, transforming food waste into renewable energy for our national grid.

Join us in celebrating International Day of Food Loss and Waste and well done to all our colleagues involved in turning potential food waste into a success story! This can only be done with the co-operation and commitment of so many departments across Supply Chain, Inventory, Operations, Transport and more. Thank you all for your continued efforts.