We recently sat down recently with Dr. Megan Morikawa, Global Director of Sustainability, Iberostar Group, and Marc Zornes, Founder of Winnow, to discuss the partnership between the two companies and how we are making a positive impact and driving responsible tourism.

2. How does Iberostar’s partnership with Winnow support your goal of a waste-free future?

Megan: By using the Winnow technology to cut back on food waste, we are provided with real-time data and insights that allow us to inform how we manage our kitchens, giving us a roadmap to manage our food waste, which ultimately helps us meet our sustainability goals. 

Through our internal studies and audits, we’ve found that food waste represents 14% of Iberostar’s footprint, so implementing this type of technology in our kitchens has been a key step forward to meet our goal of becoming waste-free by 2025. 

 

3. How is AI playing a key role in your efforts to cut food waste?

Marc: Artificial Intelligence is at the heart of our efforts. Our technology, Winnow Vision, uses a camera, a set of smart scales, and the same type of technology found in autonomous vehicles to 'see' and 'understand' what food is being discarded. This provides chefs with invaluable data on waste patterns, enabling them to adjust their production levels and menu planning accordingly. As a result, Iberostar is well on their way to reaching their 2025 target of sending zero waste to landfill. 

 

4. What significant changes have you seen in your hotels since the introduction of Winnow's system?

Megan: Since implementing Winnow in 2022, we’ve been able to see significant changes in our kitchens. As of today, we have the Winnow technology in 40 of our hotels, and just within months of its implementation, we saw a reduction in our food waste of more than 35%, which led to saving 533,000 meals from landfills. 

 

5.  What changes have you seen in the kitchens where your system has been implemented?

Marc: It's been incredibly rewarding to see the transformative change our technology has brought about. Apart from the obvious reduction in waste, we're seeing a shift in culture. Chefs using Winnow are becoming more waste-conscious, proactive, and creative in how they manage their food resources. More importantly, they're able to create delicious dishes without compromising on quality or customer satisfaction. All while contributing to a more sustainable future.

7. How do you envisage the long-term impact of your partnership with Iberostar on the broader hospitality industry?

Marc: Our partnership with Iberostar is indeed a step towards a brighter, more sustainable future. Iberostar’s commitment to food waste reduction sets an inspiring precedent for the entire hospitality industry. Together, we are currently saving 1.5 million meals a year from landfill. This is the equivalent of preventing 2,500 tons of CO2e emissions and is only the beginning. Winnow’s target is to save the hospitality industry $1bn by 2025, and Iberostar will be a key partner in this journey. 

Iberostar working with our AI is a powerful demonstration of how technology and human engagement can align to address one of the most significant environmental issues of our time. We're proud to partner with Iberostar in this venture, who are undeniably taking a leadership role in creating a new, sustainable travel industry.

 

8. Can you tell us how reducing food waste is a win-win-win for business, the environment, and the customer experience?

Megan: When we first started implementing our Wave of Change strategy in 2018, we were focused on getting the basics covered first, like removing single-use plastics, but we had ambitious goals and a clear vision for what was to come. 

When it comes to our gastronomy, we’ve looked at implementing various efforts that ladder up to our ambitious sustainability goals. For example, an area we have much pride in is our approach to responsible seafood. With most of our hotels being beachfront properties, seafood is a key part of our gastronomy offerings. For that reason, we looked at implementing a responsible seafood practice, where we ensure that the seafood on our menu is sustainably sourced—all 11 of our hotels in Mexico, a huge market for us, had 100% responsibly sourced seafood in its kitchens. But as an all-inclusive model, we knew we also needed to place a lot of emphasis on waste and think about the impact of our foodservice offerings on a larger scale, because every detail counts when it comes to saving the environment from climate change. 

Every sustainable action we’ve taken has created a ripple effect that leads to a wave of change in many positive directions. When it comes to reducing food waste, it’s been a win-win all around because we’ve managed to better inform our decisions, strengthening our financial health and operations, while also minimizing the waste in landfills, and optimizing our food offerings based on our guests’ eating habits. 

That said, while managing food waste has proven to be positive practice for our business, the environment and our guest experience, the takeaway is that the power of our responsible tourism model is not just in reducing food waste, but in the integrated efforts of our wave of change movement and the unwavering commitment of our teams across the world. Having the ocean as a breathtaking backdrop in so many of our properties is one of the many motivators driving us – and our guests— to make this change.