Food waste reduction

Not to waste, just learn

Food waste has a negative impact on both the environment and society, since it involves not only wasting food, but also the water and energy resources used to produce, transport and store food that is then thrown away. At Camst, this particularly sensitive issue has been addressed in synergy with circular economy initiatives and waste management: an integration that has enabled us to develop more effective strategies aimed at reducing environmental impact and optimizing the use of resources.

Last minute market

Thanks to the partnership with Last Minute Market, a spin-off of the University of Bologna that deals with circular economy, Camst, for many years, has been developing campaigns against food waste and educational paths for different food services. From this collaboration in 2023, the idea was born to introduce the Sprecometro, the application created to measure waste, in school meals as well, with the aim of raising children's awareness of the sustainable use of natural resources and the prevention of food waste.

I don't waste bag

An integral part of Camst's approach to nutrition education is also the use of waste-saving bags through which children can retrieve bread, fruit and packaged snacks, sharing with their families the importance of these great little gestures.

Too good to go

For the recovery of unsold food, Camst has been part of the Too Good To Go network since 2019, the initiative that allows bars, restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops, supermarkets and hotels to sell unsold food boxes at a heavily discounted price. In this way, 11,208 meals have been recovered with more than 30 tons of carbon dioxide saved.

Donations

For the past fifteen years we have also been collaborating with associations that distribute food products free of charge to those in need, thus recovering the surplus of highly perishable foods that exceed ordinary production. This activity is carried out through agreements with non-profit organizations that take charge of food pickup at our various sites. In total, donations between dry, fresh, and frozen products from our distribution center and meals recovered from our premises amount to about 36 tons of food in 2023.

Watch the video of Mattia Grillini, Vice President/Marketing, Communication and Membership Manager Camst group and Andrea Segrè, Professor of Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Policies UNIBO and founder of Last Minute Market

To get a more concrete sense of how much impact its efforts against food waste have, Camst, with the help of LMM, has for years been calculating the footprint of donations made to beneficiary organizations, as seen in the table below.