Alan Parker appointed to Winnow board
Food waste meter developers, Winnow Solutions (Winnow), has announced the appointment of Alan Parker CBE, the former CEO of leisure multinational Whitbread, to its board of directors.
The technology company, which aims to help the hospitality sector reduce food waste by digitally tracking and measuring it through ‘bin smart meters’ (pictured right), has said that Parker would be an ‘invaluable asset in helping Winnow expand its business in the UK and globally’, as he has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality sectors.
Parker (pictured), who is also a non-executive chairman at Mothercare and Park Resorts, will now sit on Winnow’s board of directors and hold a minority stake in the company. His investment supports those from social investment fund Mustard Seed, digital venture capital fund D-Ax, and Jeremy Oppenheim, Head of McKinsey's Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice, amongst others.
He commented: “Food waste costs the hospitality sector over £2.5 billion per year, I believe that the Winnow System is a perfect solution to this problem, helping operators dramatically reduce costs whilst at the same time progressing the sustainability agenda.
“I am delighted to be joining Winnow's board, and look forward to helping the business grow in the UK and beyond.”
The co-founder of Winnow, Marc Zornes, added: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Alan Parker on our board. Our smart meter has been deployed in over 100 sites in the UK and having reached £1 million in annualised savings from reduced food purchasing costs, we have proven that the Winnow system can be implemented at scale to deliver significant savings across the hospitality sector."
Hospitality sector working to reduce waste
The environmental and economic impact of wasting food has become an increasing concern for the hospitality industry, after the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) identified that the food service and hospitality sector produced 3.4 million tonnes of waste, of which 43 per cent was disposed of, mainly to landfill.
Further to this, WRAP found that 78 per cent of the residual waste produced was made up of easily recyclable food, paper, card and glass.
As such, it set up the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement (HaFSA) voluntary agreement with the joint aim of reducing food and packaging waste by five per cent (of 2012 levels) and increasing the amount of waste sent for recycling, anaerobic digestion or composting to 70 per cent by 2015.
According to figures released by WRAP in December 2014, the 200 signatories of the agreement saved more than £10 million by reducing food waste in 2013, after increasing food redistribution by 23 per cent, and boosting food recycling/composting.
To highlight best practice, WRAP has published case studies and a video in which signatories discuss the impact of the HaFSA and how they have taken individual action.
Find out more about Winnow.
