University of Redlands’ food provider, Bon Appetit Management Company, was recently named one of 15 ‘U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions.’ A news release from the EPA stated that recipients of the award are “businesses and organizations pledging concrete steps to reduce food loss and waste in their operations 50 percent by 2030.” Consideration for this honor requires a concrete and viable 30 year plan that meets environmental standards set by the U.S. government. According to the EPA’s guidelines for the award, merit was solely based upon the reduction of food waste produced by the company, and not the overall waste yields, such as plastic, packaging, paper, etc.
“In the United States, the EPA estimates that more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash, about 21 percent of the waste stream[…] Reducing food waste also impacts climate change as 20 percent of total U.S. methane emissions come from landfills,” said the EPA in a news release.
The award given to Bon Appetit is a way for the EPA to congratulate companies who are working towards being more green. If Bon Appetit continues to adhere to the concrete steps for waste reduction, as they laid out in order to be considered for this award, the overall food waste will be reduced by at least 50 percent in the next 13 years. In terms of sustainability, this pledge by Bon Appetit Management Company is a great step moving forward. Bon Appetit stated that they are “very honored to be on that list of 15” in the press release for both the EPA and the local university announcement.
