KATIE YOUNG – UK COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, GREEN ECO TECHNOLOGIES, AUSTRALIA FOOD WASTE
Managing food waste to combat climate change
With the impact of climate change becoming apparent around the world, managing food waste sustainably onsite is key to combatting harmful emissions and moving closer to carbon net zero. Here, Katie Young, UK commercial director for Green Eco Technologies, looks at how sustainable food waste management gives healthcare sites the opportunity for improved process, environmental benefit, and cost saving.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the past seven years have been the warmest on record.1
Global
mean sea level reached a new record high in 2021, the Antarctic ozone hole reached a maximum area, and this summer the UK experienced extreme high heat and weather warnings with temperatures soaring to record levels above 40˚C. It is widely acknowledged that this can all be attributed to climate change. United Nations Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres criticised humanity’s failure to tackle climate disruption, as highlighted by the WMO flagship report, and stressed the urgent requirement for a transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels in order to prevent the worsening climate impact.2 Indeed, with longer and fiercer
heatwaves, an increasing number of droughts and wildfires around the world, and more extreme rainfall and flooding, society needs to take more action to reverse this trend. The UK’s National Health Service is one of many organisations worldwide which have made commitments to drive improvement by reducing their carbon emissions. Managing food waste sustainably should be a priority focus for both private and public healthcare settings in order to meet these aspirations. According to the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, if food waste were a country, it would be the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, behind China and the USA. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 aims to halve food waste and reduce food loss by 2030. In a healthcare setting, food aids
recovery and provides an important part of any rehabilitation process. Nutritious
Katie Young
Katie Young is UK commercial director for Green Eco Technologies. Following a successful sales and marketing career in the food
industry, she turned her focus to managing the problem of food waste – recognised as a significant cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Katie has worked for Green Eco Technologies since
2021 with a view to making a positive impact on the environment for future generations. Green Eco Technologies provides onsite food waste technology to multiple sectors in the UK, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Chile, America, and Spain.
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food is not just a basic need but is increasingly becoming an important part of a patient’s care plan. However, with different dietary requirements, patients moving between wards, being discharged from hospital, undergoing surgery, or simply through loss of appetite, there is a large and inevitable amount of unavoidable food waste created by hospitals. The United Nations Environment
Programme Food Waste Index Report highlights that food waste reduction offers multiple opportunities for both people and planet – addressing food security, climate change, saving money, and reducing pressure on valuable resources such as water. However, it recognises that until now, exploiting the benefit of food waste reduction has not been achieved, as food waste is rarely measured accurately and without measurement; in other words, the true scope has not been fully understood.
IFHE DIGEST 2023
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africa-studio.com (Olga Yastremska and Leonid Yastremskiy)
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