In Switzerland, food waste represents 1/4 of the environmental impact of food and 14% of this waste occurs in restaurants.
Food waste represents 330 kg/person/year, or nearly 3 million tons. The food service sector accounts for 7% of this waste, which occurs at every stage of the chain.
Reducing food waste has thus naturally become a fundamental pillar of Novae’s environmental commitment.
Find out how we act at different levels of the chain: in our restaurants of course, with our customers, but also with our farming partners.
1 – Novae: signatory of the Confederation Pact
In 2023, Novae has signed the Confederation Pact to fight food waste. The initiative brings together catering companies committed to helping achieve the Swiss objective of reducing food waste in the country by half by 2030.
It’s an ambitious objective, and one that calls on all Novae’s teams and expertise!
2 – Intelligent weighting for tangible results
Every year for a month, food waste is weighed in each Novae restaurant. This makes it possible to distinguish between edible and non-edible leftovers, and the cause of waste (overproduction, leftovers in the plates, etc.).
This information is then carefully analysed. We use this approach to identify sources of waste and adjust our practices accordingly. Our benchmarking helps us to highlight good practice and monitor our progress with transparency.
3 – Our “anti-waste” best practices
Our chefs didn’t wait to weigh the ingredients to limit waste. Every day, there’s a festival of creativity in the kitchens, as they try to throw away less and put unsold ingredients to good use in new preparations: smoothies, risottos, crisps made from peelings… Zero waste has never been so appetising!
Try it at home: here’s an example of a delicious zero-waste receipt from our Chefs: Whole banana cake
When it comes to food that can’t be reused, many Novae restaurants offer the “No Waste” concept: takeaway dishes at a reduced price once the service is over, to limit the leftovers.
Actions at different levels of the food chain: from our kitchens to our partners’ fields, via your plates, we are taking various actions to limit waste as much as possible.
4 – Farming partnerships for upstream action
Novae not only acts in its kitchens, but also directly in the fields. Thanks to our unique model and our close collaboration with our farming partners, we can be flexible and responsive in collecting unsold fruit and vegetables, adapting our menus, and reducing waste at source.
5 – Communication and awareness-raising for downstream effectiveness
Our transparent communication on the results of our actions enables us to raise the awareness of our guests, young and old, on this topic.
In addition, from a very young age right through to elderly care homes, we organise events and challenges to involve all our customers in this cause. For example, the fight against food waste is one of the three pillars of our school programme on sustainable food.
