Costa Rican Marriotts Lead the Charge in the Global Battle Against Food Waste

In a world where the leftovers of today are the environmental crises of tomorrow, two Marriott hotels in Costa Rica have decided to take the bull by the horns—or rather, the scraps by the ladle. The Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belen and Los Suenos Marriott Resort have embarked on a culinary crusade, wielding the Leanpath food waste prevention platform as their Excalibur. In just a year, they’ve managed to slash their food waste by an impressive 25 percent, setting a pace that makes Marriott International’s Serve 360 goal of halving food waste by 2025 seem like a walk in the park.

Jose Venegas, the food and beverage cost supervisor with a green heart and a keen eye on the bottom line, made it clear that sustainability isn’t just good for the planet—it’s great for the wallet too. “By cutting down on food waste, we’re not just saving the Earth one less discarded carrot at a time; we’re also running a tighter ship financially,” Venegas explained, possibly while heroically rescuing a potato from an untimely demise.

Leanpath’s food waste tracking devices are like the CIA for kitchens, gathering intel on which foods are being jettisoned and why. This high-tech approach to dumpster diving provides actionable insights and sets goals that turn a mountain of food waste into molehills of manageable tasks. According to the folks at Leanpath, most kitchens using their platform cut their food waste in half within a year, saving money and sparing the environment in one fell swoop.

Venegas treasures the data Leanpath provides as if it were the secret recipe to his grandmother’s empanadas. “It’s a game-changer,” he said, possibly while pointing to a chart showing a dramatic plunge in food waste statistics. “It keeps our team focused on minimizing waste, making it a core part of our kitchen culture, much like an obsession with cleanliness or a penchant for sharp knives.”

In a shocking revelation that might make you reconsider your relationship with that half-eaten sandwich, the United Nations has found that one-third of the world’s food production is wasted annually. This not only represents a $1 trillion hit to the global economy but also makes food waste one of the top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions—if food waste were a country, it’d be right behind the U.S. and China in emissions, and probably not very popular at United Nations climate summits.

The efforts of Venegas and his eco-warrior chefs haven’t gone unnoticed. In April 2023, Marriott International launched the Food Waste Reduction Rally, a sort of Olympics for environmentally conscious hoteliers. The Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belen took home the gold for the Caribbean and Latin America, proving that when it comes to fighting food waste, they’re not just participants—they’re champions.

So, the next time you find yourself at a Marriott in Costa Rica, know that the delicious meal in front of you is part of a larger effort to save the planet, one bite at a time. And maybe, just maybe, think twice before you leave those last few bites of gallo pinto on your plate.