Waste No Food: London School of Economics and Political Science

Wasting no food at LSE 

Recognising that getting everyone on board is fundamental to successful sustainability initiatives, LSE Catering works to build active engagement through awareness campaigns and feedback. “We consistently share best practices across our teams and with students, setting goals for continuous improvement. Each year, we refine our approach based on data and feedback, ensuring we make measurable progress.” 

When it comes to food waste, these data come largely from a partnership with Winnow, a food waste management system. This allows the team to track and reduce waste in the kitchen and in the restaurant at Bankside House. “Our work with Winnow has been a key driver in reducing waste,” says Ana. “Through data-driven insights, we have implemented initiatives that significantly lower food waste.” These initiatives include making portion adjustments, optimising production and educating students on mindful consumption. 

“One of our biggest challenges is plate waste, as students often serve themselves larger portions than they can finish,” Ana shares. Here, too, data are key: the team uses education to address the plate waste problem, providing students with regular feedback on their food waste trends. “We encourage them to take smaller portions and give them the option to return for seconds. Offering seconds at the end of service also helps to ensure that surplus food is consumed rather than discarded.” Ana’s team pays attention to the finer details, too: for example, adjusting their serving utensils allowed them to promote mindful portioning and drive behavioural change. 

Where waste reduction becomes second nature  

“For food waste reduction to be truly effective, it must be embedded into the culture of every kitchen and food business,” Ana continues, noting that this requires a full engagement from all staff members at every level. “It needs a behavioural shift where waste reduction becomes second nature. Strong collaborations across the food industry allow us to share best practices and implement scalable solutions.” 

The team at LSE Catering is committed to reducing their waste even further in the months and years ahead. “We’re doing this by developing zero-waste recipes with our chefs, introducing more creative approaches to food utilisation in our menus, and continuing our data-driven approach to minimise waste in our operations,” Ana says. “We are also updating our sustainability policy, setting up real and measurable objectives, and focusing on provenance as well as local and responsible sourcing.” We look forward to seeing the impact of these initiatives in their next Food Made Good Standard submission! Speaking of which… 

Food Made Good at LSE 

Ana tells us that the team originally signed up for the Food Made Good Standard to benchmark their sustainability efforts and push themselves to do better. “The process allowed us to assess our strengths and areas for improvement while reinforcing our commitment to responsible food practices,” she says. “The certification has validated our sustainability efforts and provided actionable insights to further enhance our operations.” 

“We received great support from The SRA throughout the Food Made Good Standard process. They made the certification and assessment easy to understand while being open to discussing our processes and systems, which we truly appreciated,” she adds.  

Ana wraps up by looking forward from their most recent evaluation. “We are pleased with the results and have already implemented key takeaways and actions. There is still work to do, particularly in our supply chain, but having clear benchmarks and a structured path forward gives us confidence in advancing our sustainability efforts.” 

Learn more about sustainability at London School of Economics and Political Science here!

Interested in finding out how the Food Made Good Standard can help your business find direction and celebrate your sustainability wins? Read more here or drop Will a line with any questions at will@thesra.org.