Sustainability Trends in the Food Sector: Five Organizations Breaking New Ground

In the race against the climate crisis, the global food system emerges as both a challenge and an opportunity. With food and agriculture contributing up to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, food service and hospitality brands play a decisive role in limiting warming to the 1.5°C target.

Historically, sustainability was sidelined as a cost-heavy pursuit, often incompatible with profitability, but changing consumer priorities for ethical and green brands reveals that green strategies can indeed strengthen revenues. Groundbreaking initiatives in the food and drink sector—where carbon reduction often complements cost-saving measures—are increasingly seen as investments in resilience and consumer trust. Adopting practices that benefit people and the planet makes good business sense.

Take the staggering impact of food waste: each year, the resources to produce a third of all food lost globally generate 3.3 billion tons of CO₂ emissions. To put this into perspective, were food waste a nation, it would rank as the world’s third-largest emitter, just behind China and the US. The financial toll is equally sobering, with $940 billion worth of food effectively thrown away as rubbish each year. Businesses actively addressing waste enjoy measurable returns, saving $14 in operating costs for every $1 invested in waste reduction, according to research from the World-Resources-Institute-backed Champions 12.3 initiative.

Meet the Companies Shaping Sustainability in the   Foodservice Business

Across the food and drink sector, businesses are re-engineering their supply chains to reduce waste, extend product shelf lives, and develop more eco-friendly processes. Waste reduction is just one facet of the industry’s shift; other areas of focus include innovations in procurement, the search for sustainable ingredient alternatives, and technologies that help minimize environmental impact. Below, we spotlight five companies at the forefront of change, each setting a new standard for what sustainability can look like in practice.

Denali - www.denalicorp.com

Currently, the US produces 120 billion pounds of food waste each year – equating to 40% of its entire supply. As a result, food is the single largest component of US landfills, making up 22% of municipal solid waste. On a mission to unlock the value of this unused organic material and the essential nutrients within it, Denali is the country’s leading food waste recycling and repurposing company. Some of its partners include Walmart, Hilton Hotels Group, and meal kit subscription service Hello Fresh.

After collecting millions of tons of food waste from thousands of locations – including manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants, hospitality businesses, schools, universities and municipal waste centers – the Denali team uses it to make animal feed, compost and natural fertilizers. Operating under Biotane Fuels, the company even produces biodiesel from waste fats and oils, an alternative to petroleum diesel.

Denali’s innovations include ‘depackaging’ technology that can remove packaging from foods, whether they are fresh, frozen or in liquid form. This means that retailers, hospitality and food service partners don’t need to task staff with manually removing packaging. They simply put all waste food in a dedicated Denali bin.

Clean Food Group - www.cleanfood.group

Due to its high yields and low production costs, palm oil has become a key ingredient in food staples –bakery products, confectionery, cookies, instant noodles, ice cream, margarine, baby foods and snacks. The oil’s ubiquity has led to the uncontrolled clearing of tropical rainforests for palm plantations, destroying irreplaceable and biodiverse-rich habitats. Overall, palm oil and soy, the other most commonly used vegetable oil, account for 20% of deforestation, while the oils and fats sector is behind 7% of global greenhouse gases. The need for sustainable alternatives is urgent.

In response, the scientists at the UK biotech company Clean Food Group have devised a propriety technology that converts food waste into a unique yeast strain that can create sustainable substitutes for conventional oils and fats through fermentation. The resulting products drastically reduce agricultural land use and deliver a 90% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to traditional palm oil. The technology’s circularity and scalability have meant Clean Good Group recently attracted £2.5 million in funding from the UK’s Clean Growth Fund, bringing the total it’s raised to £13 million.

Martee AI - www.martee.ai

Too often, sandwich chains, delis, bakeries, sushi stores and coffee shops waste food because they can’t predict customer demand in an increasingly turbulent global market. To limit the number of unsold items in the trash, they are often forced into offering overpriced fresh products or restrictive ultra-processed options. That’s why UK tech startup Martee AI has created the only demand forecasting tool tailored for the food-on-the-go industry.

Using the power of AI, the platform unlocks improved consumer demand forecasting accuracy for retailers. Its AI co-pilot analyzes business data in conjunction with external insights—like local weather forecasts—to identify hidden patterns and trends that might otherwise be overlooked. The aim is to support business owners in growing sales by driving hyper-local, on-shelf availability of the products that customers want while minimizing food waste. With instant sales and trend updates, they can stay ahead of demand.

Novonesis - www.novonesis.com

A merger of bioscience companies Novozymes and Chr Hansen, Danish company Novonesis offers biosolutions that harness the power of natural enzymes and bacteria to solve sustainability challenges.

For example, its microbiologists have discovered how to lengthen the time food remains edible, thereby reducing waste. At present, yogurt’s short shelf-life means that 80% of it is wasted. However, Novonesis scientists have identified a microbe that can keep it fresh for a week longer due to its capacity to absorb a nutrient in fermented milk that yeast and mold need to grow.

Similarly, the biotech company offers a range of enzymes that can lengthen the time bread stays fresh. As all the greenhouse gas emissions arising from bread’s manufacture – in terms of wheat crop production, processing, baking, packaging and transportation – contribute to climate change, this significantly cuts its carbon footprint.

With other pioneering microbiological applications in functional foods, animal health, soil fertility, renewable energy, carbon capture, plastics circularity and household cleaning, the company already has an estimated annual revenue of 3.7 billion euros.

Urban Stalk - www.urbanstalk.ca 

Since the mid-20th century, the global population has more than doubled, and arable land use per capita has declined in the same period. Set against the escalating climate and nature crises, with deforestation and wild terrain conversion to agricultural land accounting for 20% of global emissions, sustainably feeding everyone is one of humanity’s greatest challenges.

Based in Canada, Urban Stalk is one of the businesses trying to solve this problem. Tackling food insecurity and global warming, the company combines digital tech with hydroponics, which equates to growing crops in an artificial environment without soil using water-based mineral nutrient solutions. Its unique vertical farming pods use robotics, data optimization, machine learning and automation to grow food exactly where it’s needed, regardless of the season.

Like a network of roots, these pods are synched together using a smart-connected network infrastructure to share data optimizations and grow the highest nutritionally valuable vegetable crop while reducing the costs and carbon footprint. Instead of crops requiring vast tracts of farmland, the pods can be installed in rows of shelves in old barns, shipping containers or warehouses. So far, they’ve been used to grow 50 different crops, including leafy greens, microgreens, bulbs and exotic vegetables.

A Transition in Motion

While most food service and hospitality brands are far behind these sustainability pioneers, standard practices are evolving. Forward-thinking cafés, restaurants and catering operations are already streamlining their operations to minimize costs and emissions. The more apparent strategies include reducing portion sizes or digitally analyzing data to predict demand more accurately.  

Some establishments go further: Monteverde restaurant in Chicago, run by chef Sarah Grueneberg, donates food scraps to a local farm project. London’s Culpeper gastropub and Copenhagen’s Gro Spiseri incorporate rooftop farms that supply fresh produce and compost from kitchen waste. These efforts not only minimize waste but also invite diners into the sustainability experience, showcasing a promising model for the future.

How QSRs and Fast Food Chains Are Addressing Food Waste

The food-on-the-go sector is increasingly prioritizing sustainability, with a focus on tackling food waste. In the UK, Pret A Manger has committed to a zero-landfill policy. Through its Too Good to Go initiative, stores offer discounts on unsold sandwiches near closing time, with any remaining food redistributed to charities via the Pret Foundation. Marks & Spencer follows a similar path, partnering with organizations like FareShare and FoodCycle to ensure no surplus food goes to waste and ends up in landfills.

Fast-food giants and takeaway services are stepping up, too. McDonald’s, for instance, has set an ambitious zero-waste target for 2027. Meanwhile, Just Eat is addressing food waste through initiatives such as its Food Waste Race, launched in response to findings that UK consumers discard £1.8 billion in takeaway food annually. This behavior-change campaign, which provides tips on storing leftovers, has expanded from the UK to Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany, reflecting a broader commitment to reducing waste on a global scale.

Certifying a Greener Table: Partnerships and Standards for Sustainable Dining

For foodservice, hospitality, and restaurant brands eager to champion sustainability, joining certification bodies like the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Green Hospitality, or the Sustainable Restaurant Association can create a meaningful impact and showcase their commitment to guests and diners. The Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Goods sets a standard for food and beverage outlets worldwide, while North America’s Green Restaurant Association certifies venues based on criteria like energy, waste, and water use. Michelin, too, has joined the movement, introducing its Green Star in 2020 to honor restaurants leading the way in environmental stewardship.

Towards a Sustainable Food Future

The stakes, like global water levels, are rising. Record-breaking heatwaves, hurricanes, and floods highlight the urgent need to upgrade our socioeconomic systems and rethink how we produce, consume, and dispose of food. Foodservice and hospitality businesses shoulder increasing responsibility to create a better, greener and fairer future, as do consumers.

The road ahead requires industry commitment and collective action from consumers, businesses, and policymakers alike. As the above pioneering companies demonstrate, sustainability in the food sector is more than a goal—it's an evolving standard reshaping expectations, operations, and impact. For those willing to innovate, this moment offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine sustainable practices in profit margins and measurable contributions to a healthier planet.

The question is no longer whether sustainability is feasible but how far we will go to make it a reality. Our future depends on it.