Implementing Food Waste Management Tool in Langham - Essay Example

1. Background 1 Types of Food waste in Hotels Food waste is a highly critical sustainability issue faced by Hong Kong, which is currently struggling to reduce the amount of food waste being dumped into its landfills. The key types of food waste typically observed in hotels include: Unavoidable food waste such as vegetable trimmings and peelings, inedible products such as bones, coffee grounds, tea leaves etc., and avoidable food waste such as out of date spoiled food, erroneous work place practices such as errors by the kitchen staff, large food portions leading to per plate wastage. The problem which requires urgent action is how to reduce the dumping of food waste in the landfills so as to minimize the economic, social and environmental impacts. 1.2 Langham Hotel Langham Hotel is one of Hong Kongs most reputed and largest chain of hotels. Langham was recently selected as the first site to evaluate the feasibility of the new food waste composting program of the Hong Kong Governments’ Environmental Protection Department because of its active implementation of “green” initiatives. As a pioneer in sustainable food waste management practice in Hong Kong, Langham has the objective to be the leading eco-hotel in the hospitality industry. The effective resolution of the problem through development and implementation of novel strategies to reduce and avoid food waste, is likely to help not only the hotel but also support the national efforts to reduce food waste, reduce the carbon footprint and protect the environment. It will also encourage the others to follow in its footsteps and contribute to a greater social and environmental cause in the long run in the process. 1.3 Role of CSR TV CSR TV is the project consultant of Langham’s Sustainability Task Force reviewing their CONNECT Programme. How to continuously improve the existing food waste prevention and recycling program and extend support to the staff and local communities with regard to management of food waste has been in the mind of the CEO for some time. In the analysis paper, recommendations for the future review of sustainability challenges are: 1) avoid food waste at source 2) reuse and recycle food waste through innovation 3) minimizing food waste disposal to landfills. The CEO has asked CSRTV to source for global guidance on preventing and reducing food waste more effectively so as to create a sustainability strategy that would lead the company to do things in different and better way. CSR TV represents the Strategic Task Force in presenting this paper for CEO endorsement. This paper will focus on implementing a food waste management tool so as to prevent and reduce food waste. The intervening strategy is to introduce a Five-step process in the food waste operation called W.A.S.T.E. The overall change process will be documented into a video program to depict how Langham transforms itself from "business as usual" to becoming a pioneering force in food waste management in Hong Kong. 2. Rationale for the proposed strategy 2.1 Introduction To effectively prevent and reduce food waste in the hotel industry, a process to scope, develop, measure and report on food waste practices is essential. This strategic plan aims to implement the W.A.S.T.E. tool as developed by WRAP to Langham Hotel. 2.2 Wider Context The unprecedented scale of food waste is attracting increasing attention due to its environmental, social and economic impacts. The waste hierarchy is only one step of the waste management process indicating prevention and reduction of waste is the most favored option as depicted on the left side of Fig 1. Fig. 1. SWM practices model for the hospitality sector [Radwan et al., 2012, 2010]. Fig 1 also shows the wider context of waste management process embracing the behavioral intentions on the right side. Various factors such as prevalent legislative and economic constraints affect the decision made by the hotel management. A waste audit must also be carried out by the hotel at regular intervals, in addition to the daily waste generation statistics it keeps a record of. Yet another notable feature of the waste process is the fact that it clearly makes it compulsory for the hotel/restaurant staff to be trained about waste management strategy. In the hospitality industry, the wet waste consists primarily of food waste (Wagh, 2008), which can account for more than 50% of the hospitality waste (Curry, 2012) and up to one third of all the food served within the hospitality sector (Marthinsen et al., 2012). In the context of Langham, waste management can be tackled primarily in the prevention and reduction of food waste. Accordingly, the strategic task force proposes implementing effective waste management tool that could measure the food waste and monitor the results. 2.3 Organizatioinal Context Current and future capacity to respond: Langham aims to meet the strategic goal of achieving 60 % reduction in food waste in 2015 and 80 % by 2017, and eventually achieving the ultimate goal of zero food waste generation by 2020. This represent significant improvement over the hotels performance in 2013, when it managed to reduce its carbon footprint by 3.14 per cent (as compared to 2008) and prevented food waste from being dumped in landfills by recycling 281 tonnes of rubbish. The hotel recycled 827 litres of cooking oil and transformed it into bio-fuel (The Langham Place, 20141) Relevant systems & processes: The organisation aligns all its sustainability activities in accordance with the Earth Check certification standards, the International Organisation for Standardisation and Global Reporting Initiatives as well as the standards set by the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. The organisation also included vegetarian dishes to its guests in the menu, and offered full-day meatless dishes at its canteens beginning on Earth Day. Organisational culture: The organization has participated in environmentally sustainable activities since 2009 including the Food Wise Program, collaborated with charitable organisations for donating excess food through the Food Link foundation, and developing an in house corporate culture through ‘connect’ which enables launching of various activities and programs aimed at developing environmentally sustainable practices, and encouraging low carbon living among the staff and the community at large. Skills & resources: The organization considers colleagues are the most important resources in delivering genuine services which comes from the heart of each employee. The hotel commits to providing fair working environment, training & career development and employee engagement. Green Monday promotes a green lifestyle by going meatless on Mondays to reduce carbon footprint was originally suggested by a colleague and the organization captured his innovative ideas. Personal sphere of influence: The hotel currently provides a tool kit and training pack to all its employs offering comprehensive guidance to establish and implement an effective internal environmental management system. The kit however, does not have elaborative guidance on waste management. As the project consultant of the Sustainability task force, I 2.4Stakeholders Internal stakeholders: 2.5 Levels of Change (all address to adoption of the sustainbility tools- W.S.A.T.E.) `` Strategic Approach: revitalization > value creation > Institutionalization Follow the style of Sustainability Measurement tools paper, change the context to food waste management system, we also need buy-in from chef, customers, procurement, HR dept to adopt a new mechanism Within the domain of hospitality industry the key levers of change with regard to influencing and motivating reduction in food waste at source include - change in leadership styles; exploiting expert knowhow; effectively communicating and initiating the process of change within organisations. The leadership styles greatly influence the manner in which the organisation approaches and address issues of global concern - such as food waste management. The authoritative style of corporate leadership is outdated and ineffective in dealing with sustainability related issues. Hence such leadership styles must be changed to a more liberal, stewardship style of leadership which emphasises and focuses on sustainability and sustainable development of the communities and society at large. The use of expert knowhow is likely to help in developing and implementing transferable skills and tools in change management which can be applied organisation wide. Such tools are further likely to help in developing a bespoke theory of success within the purview of organisational change, for the management. Lastly, the effective transitioning of existing organisation framework to the proposed sustainable framework is of key significance. Kotters change management model provides a sound basis for organisations to ease the process of transition and effectively achieve its desired goals. Collaboration– Why Dunphy’s model is applicable to overcome resistance of staff in adopting W.A.S.T.E., Organisational change when initiated, often provoke and trigger a reaction process. One of the strongest of them all is resistance. Staff resistance is a key barrier to change and hence it must be addressed to effectively achieve the organisational goals. The following conceptual model is effective in understanding user resistance and the ways in which it can be addressed. Source: Bovey & Hede (2001) Dunphy & Stace’s model of change is effective in addressing and managing issues related to organisational change because it does not rely on encouraging or motivating employees to change through negotiations but instead relies on a more autocratic means i.e., through increased supervision and control of employee activities. This in turn ensures rapid adaption to change. Source (Dunphy & Stace, 1988). Knowledge management –How Learning organization in cross training, open communication, nurturing and encouraging creativity is important in applying W.A.S.T.E. Increasing awareness regarding the implications of the sustainability issue on the community and the environment at large, helps in initiating a positive and willful change within the employees since the reasons for change are known and also the manner in which their actions can help promote good practice, environmental protection and sustainable corporate management. Institutionalized–Why organizational change need to be progress, so as to adopt W.A.S.T.E. Behaviour must be changed in order to achieve organization wide cooperation and contribution. The key barriers to change are often attributed to employee resistance. Hence organization wide change is highly crucial to ensure successful achievement of the desired objectives. Behavior change to adopt the new measure, just one sentence for the change mechanism Avoidable, unavoidable waste: Most likely causes of food waste can be categorised based on two broad categories including avoidable and unavoidable food waste. Food waste generated in hotels is due to three key factors, which are explained in the diagram below: Food waste caused due to human error and method of preparation can be termed as avoidable food waste while that caused on account of contingent factors can be categorized under the ‘unavoidable food waste’ category. Food security: Food security refers to physical and economic accessibility to ""adequate amounts of nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate" food "produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially just manner, and that people are able to make informed decisions about their food choices" (Food Security Network, 2015). Source: Food Security Network2 (2015) Benefits: Environmental Social & Human Health Economic Reduced pressure and impact on land, air and water through sustainable production and procurement activities Improved access to food for all; improved community development, better health outcomes Reduced loss due to avoidable wastage; improved budgets for hotels; improved cost savings due to recycling Prevent and reduce: To prevent and reduce food waste generation the following steps are recommended: Provide food such as salads, garnish, or extra sides strictly on request rather than as a part of the menu. Similarly, ask for toppings needed and offer choice to eliminate food waste. Offer beverages such as tea /coffee in pots as well as single servings, rather than strictly in pots to avoid wastage of raw materials. Place water meters in kitchen to enable the staff to monitor the usage of water and help them prevent wastage. Make water usage a key performance indicator to enable further saving. Similarly place signs on other kitchen equipment to indicate the time taken to cook food to avoid wastage due to the meals being over/under cooked. Actively track the type of food /menu that cause the most wastage and reduce the meal sizes and allow top-ups or refills instead or change the menu accordingly. Ensure that the food is prepared in small batches and reduce portion sizes wherever possible. Offer ‘economy size’ of main courses to avoid food wastage. Reuse and recycle: Food waste can be reused and recycled through various means in order to divert it from being dumped into the landfills. Landfill: Almost all food waste is directed to landfills to be disposed. Continued reliance on this method of food waste disposal has already caused severe environmental damage. Landfills in Hong Kong in particular are running beyond their capacity and are in acute danger of overfilling. Lack of timely measures could pose a serious threat to the country’s environment and further propel climate change. Social, environmental and economic issues of food waste: Described in the figure above (food security) Did not add again, due to redundancy Organisational Context(address only to food waste/ tools) SWOT in table – just for food waste (not company wide) Strengths Weaknesses Opportunity Threat Reduced costs, improved savings; environmental protection; promote accessibility of food for all High maintenance costs, lack of community awareness and support, high financial and environmental costs Availability and accessibility to knowhow; growing trend of environmentally conscious consumer; community pride; sustainable and healthy living Lack of infrastructure to support sustainability; lack of government support 7S in one paragraph, no need to address all factors, only those relevant to Strategy – To develop an improvised system /process that enables effective reduction of food waste in hotels Systems: Implement an improved monitoring and food waste tracking system to enable routine checking and ensure strict adherence to policies Shared values: Introduce and encourage a culture of change that focuses on sustainability through effective food reduction processes. Style: Abandon the outdated leadership style that focuses and emphasizes on authority and adopt a Stewardship model /style of leadership that ensures sustainable development and focuses on development of the community and the society at large. Staff – encourage greater involvement of staff in the sustainable management development plan for improved outcomes Skills – offer training and conduct workshops to increase awareness and improve the skills of the staff to enable them to reduce food waste. implementing a new system Current food waste system, the capacity level – already good, how good? From sustainability report culture – learning culture role of the consultant - Proposed Strategic Action Plan 3.1Introduction As the project consultant to Langham’s Sustainability Task Force, I was commissioned to source for know how guide to reduce and manage food waste more effectively. I have identified the W.A.S.T.E problem-solving discipline developed from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in UK that could make substantiate improvement in the waste reduction. Using a step-by-step approach, the tool will provide Langham with the guidance required to design and deliver on effective actions to reduce food waste. 3.2 Strategic Approach Recognizing the need for revitalization I will begin by seeking to understand more about how much waste Langham is produced to set the baseline in the operations. This can then be used to develop the strategy, set a target and to start monitoring progress against it. Creating a shared value Having decided where Langham can make the greatest progress, I will instigate actions to reduce waste. I will work with different departments to develop project plans with common goal of reducing food waste from the guidance and examples of W.A.S.T.E. Institutionalizing change I will measure the overall progress towards the target and measure the impact of individual initiatives and actions I have instigated in the operations in order to understand what has worked effectively. The result of measuring waste can be used to report at regular intervals – internally within the business and externally, to stakeholders. 3.3 Strategic Objectives To achieve change for large reduction in food waste with the necessary mechanisms in place to co-ordinate, support and monitor the delivery of food waste prevention and reduction programmes. To ensure the waste management tool is properly applied in all steps to build up case stories to share the good work with other stakeholders 3.4 Step-by-step implementation of W.A.S.T.E. This five steps within the W.A.S.T.E. process are problem-solving disciplines to find the problem that are in the way to achieving the goal of food waste reduction. Fig 3The W.A.S.T.E. process(UNEP, 2014) Step 1: Waste definition: This process entails defining waste. Food waste is a highly critical issue and comprises of a broad range of factors that cause and support waste generation. These include avoidable and unavoidable wastes, waste generation at source, waste generation due to lack of awareness, knowhow or training etc. The management team responsible for undertaking and implementing a waste reduction plan must hence arrive at a common consensus regarding the definition of waste. It includes finding solutions to all the key questions concerning food waste in hotels such as what is the waste - current and desired levels; the people and processes affected by it; frequency or the rates at which it occurs - frequently, occasionally, consistently and rate the degree and extent; Quantifying the waste; and potential benefits likely to accrue from effectively defining the waste. Analyse and identify root causes: The root causes of waste in hotels range from lack of awareness; carelessness in food preparation or serving; excessive serving sizes; unnecessary decorations; ineffective procurement and demand management; flexible budgets etc. The key to reducing or eliminating avoidable food wastes in hotels is to identify the root causes behind such waste. This could be done by brainstorming that enables identifying the key actors responsible for waste generation such as people, processes, materials, as well as environment. The cause and effect diagram above indicates the various processes and factors responsible for food waste generation in hotels and the manner in which the same can be identified in a systematic manner. Solution generation: Based on the root causes identified and agreed upon by the management, solutions must be generated through consensus and proper planning. Various solutions are available at the disposal of the management to address each root cause however the most cost-effective solution out of the lot must be chosen in order to minimize costs and maximize the benefits. The benefits and costs of the proposed solutions must be compared and carefully evaluated before finalizing on one. The conclusion of this stage must enable narrowing down on the most cost-effective solution that addresses all the root causes effectively; prioritise the chosen solutions for each root cause based on the urgency; quantify and compare the costs involved and define the key reasons that compelled the choice of the solution. Trial, evaluate and measure: At this stage, the management must test the solutions with regard to its effectiveness and viability in achieving the desired objective. This entails ensuring whether the said solution is able to effectively address and resolve the root causes identified in the previous step; the time taken to achieve the goal; a comparative perspective on the expected /desired outcome and the actual outcome; and note down the conclusions or recommendations for change, if any. Execute sustainable change and reduce waste: Based on the success of the trial process the final solution chosen must be used to initiate and execute the change process. This includes all the departments where the change is likely to be implemented; providing materials for promoting and informing the change process to the staff and other employees; and acquiring the necessary tools required to execute the change. Allocation of Responsibilities p.106 Potential Risk P.129 Assessment of cost and resources Time-frames The process will be reviewed with all stakeholders on the effectiveness of food reduction regularly from baseline to target results. The progress is monitored stage by stage to take corrective action as required. Annual report will be produced to report on the result of food waste reduction. Fig 5 The process in the implementation of W.A.S.T.E. monitoring Conclusion The tool provides clear and comprehensive steps to reduce food waste by developing, implementing and measuring food waste with proven and measurable results. The successful actions will be documented into a video programme under the W.A.S.T.E. application case study. The three stages are: corporate strategy, baseline and targets; Taking action –guidance with tools and examples; and Measurement and reporting progress towards targets The WRAP Guidance encompasses: (read: www.WRAP-NCE_Economic-enviromental-gains-food-waste.pdf P.10-12 to understand the plan and move forward to write) A robust evidence base Integrated action plans A collaborative ‘whole chain’ approach Monitoring and reporting Recognizing the need for revitalization (identify source of food waste, human error, innovative ways of re-use) Creating a shared vision (among stakeholders, culture, behavior, alignment of goals, departmental communication) Institutionalizing change (culture, operational efficiency, transparent, governance) Strength :It is a tool based on the most successful case studies of measureable food waste reduction initiatives and exemplary practices in awareness-raising and process optimizations from around the world. Work Cited: Bovey, W. H., Hede, A., (2001). Resistance to organisational change: The role of cognitive and affective processes. Leadership and Organisational Development Journal., 22/8: 372 - 382 Dunphy, D. C. and D. A. Stace (1988). "Transformational and Coercive Strategies for Planned Organizational Change: Beyond the OD model." Organisation Studies, 9(3): 317-334. Food Security Network (2015). What is food security [Online] Available at: Langham Place (2014). Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong goes for gold with EarthCheck [Online] Available at: Appendix: The WASTE process Cause and effect diagram Stage 2: Project sheet (Manufacturing) Project Sheet (Supply chain) Stage 3 (Manufacturing) Stage 3 (Supply chain) Stage 4: Manufacturing 4: Stage 4: Supply chain Stage 5: Manufacuring Stage 5 – Supply chain Read More