MCI webinar about sustainable food. what is it? Why? And how to incorporate into an event. Some case studies, stories and great pictures. Updated July 2015

1. Sustainable FoodHow to eat more sustainably at
an event or at home
MCI Sustainability Services

2. Objectives
By the end of the session we aim
for you to:
1. Be able to articulate the
growing trend and benefits of
sustainable F&B to clients
2. Learn a checklist approach to
delivering sustainable F&B
3. Learn 3 things you can do at
home or at your next event
Guy Bigwood
Group Sustainability
Director
Roger Simons
Group Sustainability
Manager
Pranav Sethaputra
Group Sustainability
Consultant

3. Why is Sustainable
Food Important?

4. A
Sustainable
Future
Current
Reality
Living beyond the limits of earth´s system
Source:The Natural Step
Sustainable Supply
Sustainable Demand

5. The Big Issues
Long term
sustainability
Food
Safety &
health
Waste
Biodiversit
y
Supply
Social

6. Dangerous Waters
And all this is being exacerbated by climate change

7. 50% of the fish we eat is farmed

8. 8
• 40 million tonnes of food wasted by
US households
• UK Households waste 25% of all
the food they buy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoCVrkcaH6Q
FOOD WASTE

9. 9
The world's nearly
1,000,000,000
hungry people could be lifted
out of malnourishment on
less than 1/4
of the food wasted in the US,
UK and Europe.
http://www.thinkeatsave.org/

10. Understanding Impact
Accor’s direct consumption is 10% of its water
consumption, while the farms supplying food
to AccorHotels represent some
86%.

11. TRENDS
11

12. 12
Source: US National Chefs Association

13. Interaction Time – What is “local” food?
I define “local” as……..Type your answer in the chat
box.

14. Definition of Local Food?
• Dependent on where you hold event
• In the US it is often 100 miles (160km)
• The APEX-ASTM standards states 250 miles (approx. 400km)

15. Interaction Time – What is “organic” food?
I define “organic” as……..Type your answer in
the chat box.

17. The US organic food market raked in $35.1 billion in 2013
and has been forecasted to grow by 14% from 2013-2018.

18. 18

19. Some fruit and veg is better organic
Most Pesticides Least Pesticides

20. What is Fair Trade?
One in every three bananas
sold in the UK is Fairtrade

21. 22
Sustainable seafood can be defined as species that
are caught or farmed in a way that ensures the long-
term health and stability of that species, as well as the
greater marine ecosystem.

22. How do you know?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H86Z3qmvXk4&feat
ure=youtu.be

23. 24
UK & US CAMPAIGN.
$90 billion is spent annually by US government
in an effort to combat obesity but no focus on
healthy food in schools?!!

24. 25
Massive shift to eating healthy
And it makes a huge climate impact
Soy milk uses 80% less water & 60% less CO2 than cows milk
FLEXITARIANISM
Source: https://silk.com/our-story/resource-conservation

25. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Food: The carbon benefits of eating local and less meat
Vegetables have 20% of the carbon footprint of beef. Less beef is healthier and more climate friendly
Food miles are a small part (11%) of a large food emissions story
Footprint of organic food items varies according to how and where they were grown
26
Sources: ERS/USDA, LCA data, IO-LCA data, Weber & Matthews. More information - Shrink That Footprint”
Sources: Carbon footprint of organic vs convention foods.
*

26. 27
SUPERFOODS

27. Brainfood from Rezidor
• Plenty of fish, whole-grain products,
fruits and vegetables
• Primarily fresh, locally sourced foods
• Pure ingredients, with minimal
processing
• Less meat with never more than 10%
fat content
• Focus on delicious taste and healthy
options
• Natural sweetening with no more than
10% sugar
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=2B6Cumijg08

28. 29
Storytelling

29. 30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE

30. MCI Project
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=vLqCsvCF9Co

31. 34
Questions

32. The MCI way
HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR EVENT FOOD
MORE SUSTAINABLE?

33. The Checklist

34. Your Journey to Better F&B
RETHINK
REDUCE
REUSERECYCLE
DONATE

35. Ask your suppliers what they can do to make your F&B more sustainable

36. USE SUSTAINABILITY TO IMPROVE
THE DINNING EXPERIENCE
FLOSS
Fresh
Local
Organic
Seasonal
Sustainable

37. But it costs more?

38. 41
43% of diners say they would pay up to 10% more
for a meal in a sustainable restaurant

39. SOURCE LOCAL AND
TELL THE STORY

40. 43
FROM FARM TO TABLE

41. 44
SOURCE FAIRTRADE

42. Work with chefs to serve more sustainable
fish and seafood
http://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/PocketGoodFishGuide2014.pdf

43. 46
PROMOTE EXCITING
VEGETARIAN OPTIONS

44. 47
USE REUSABLE OR
EDIBLE
CENTREPIECES

45. Serve Water Differently

46. Confirm your Numbers

47. DONATE UNWANTED FOOD

48. 51
Compost food waste

49. 52
RETHINK &
INNOVATE

50. Case Studies

51. Brief
• Change behaviour of attendees to
adopt new business behaviours and
use event to trigger change
Solution
• Gamification using RFID wristbands
with attendees gaining points by
making right choices in terms of
physical activity, wellbeing and diet
• “Super points’ were gained by
individuals selecting fresh fruit and
juices during refreshment breaks over
traditional coffee and pastries
Results
Between 76% to 80% of delegates had a
healthy option at lunch each day

52. Claudia van’t Hullenaar – Global Events, EMEA 55

53. Food & Beverage
Use sustainability to enhance the dining experience
FLOSS
Fresh
Local
Organic
Seasonal
Sustainable
“Local country
Cuisine”

54. Setting Goals
• Deliver high quality eating
experience for attendees
(+75% satisfaction)
• All F&B providers to deliver
more sustainable F&B at no
additional cost
• 40% local (within 250km),
15% organic and 25%
Vegetarian
• 50% Waste Diversion Rate

55. Success Story: Healthier and Tastier Food
58
F&Bs team showed
creativity: example of
artful presentation of fruit
plate
Serving filtered tab water in
jugs eliminating bottled
water
Clear labeling of dishes:
here serving MSC certified
fish
Inviting presentation of
food at buffet station
Offering and healthy
dishes
Clearly marked labels
illustrate ingredients like
diary, nuts, cheese or gluten
From farm-to-table
offering: “Where does
my food come from?”
Fair trade tea and coffee was
served in combination with
fruits and pastries

56. INCREASE IN
AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF SYMANTEC AS A
BRAND THAT IS COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY
49%
SOURCE: MCI & SYMANTEC
34% Vegetarian
39% local, 26% organic
89% Waste Diversion Rate
26,000€ Saving

57. Conclusion: Its time to have a food vision for your
event
SUSTAINABILITY
HEALTHTASTE
INNOVATION

58. ICCA Scandinavian Chapter: Twitter: #ICCASCAN
Its not difficult but we have to train
Its about PROGRESS and not PERFECTION

59. 62
Questions

60. 63
What three things are you going to do differently?

61. MCI Sustainability Report 2014
Click here to access the full online report: www.mcisustainability.com

62. MCI Sustainability Blog
www.lessconversationmoreaction.org

63. MCI Sustainability Services
If you have any questions or require more
information, please contact:
Guy.Bigwood@mci-group.com
Roger.Simons@mci-group.com
Additionally, you can view our blog at:
www.lessconversationmoreaction.com