NEC and ICC save over 13,200 food portions with OLIO

To mark Food Waste Action Week (7-13 March), the NEC Birmingham and the International Convention Centre (ICC) in England are sharing how they reduce food waste within the venues. Their food redistribution service aims to ensure surplus, pre-packaged food from the venues are distributed to the local community. In total, over 13,200 food portions have been saved during 18 months of operation through a partnership with OLIO, the food-sharing app, and Amadeus, the NEC Group’s in-house caterers. The initiative has also averted over 11,400kg of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to taking 38,700 car miles off the road, and has saved 2m litres of water. Marc Frankl, food and beverage director of Amadeus, commented: “We are committed to driving sustainability, reducing our carbon footprint and tackling food waste within the events industry. It has been a tough, yet rewarding journey for us to transform our operations in this way. “Our staff have really embraced the partnership and it’s moving from strength to strength.” Amadeus staff also volunteer as OLIO ‘Food Waste Heroes’ at its venues, who assist the local community with donations.