#SustyTalk: Compass Group’s Ashleigh Taylor on Stop Food Waste Day

#SustyTalk is all about keeping edie’s loyal readers connected to sustainability leaders across the world, whilst reminding us all that sustainability and climate action must go on through the current Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. It launched in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 and has continued since then, keeping us connected to the leaders who are continuing to drive sustainability and climate action.

For this latest #SustyTalk episode, our special guest is Compass Group UK and Ireland’s head of environment Ashleigh Taylor.

Compass, one of the nation’s largest catering groups, has set ambitious targets to cut food waste, ban air freighted fruits and vegetables and increase its plant-based menu offerings on the road to net-zero.

Taylor reflects on how developing a pathway to reach these targets has been a fresh opportunity to engage chefs, other staff, clients and consumers with innovative new dishes.

She says: “Our ambition has seen more than 4,000 chefs in the UK reformulating around 90,000 recipes, and that reformulation has seen an increased focus on local, seasonal and plant-based ingredients.

“Chefs are such creative people anyway, that giving them a challenge and asking whether they can subsitute some meat-based proteins gets them excited. They come up with some amazing, really flavoursome ingredients and recipes.”

Taylor also reflects on the growing ‘Stop Food Waste Day’ movement. Launched by Compass in 2017 and now observed across the world on the last Wednesday of April each year, the Day is a truly global event.

editor’s note: Taylor mentions Compass Group UK & Ireland’s most recent Climate Impact report in this interview. You can read this report in full here. 

Click here to see our catalogue of #SustyTalk interviews

Want to be featured on a future episode of #SustyTalk? Email newsdesk@fav-house.com. Please bear in mind that our interview calendar is typically booked several weeks in advance.