Shelves that gather data on stock at risk of spoiling, the Green Digital Action Hub and Artificial Intelligence Institute. We run an urgent update on how AI and automation are reducing commercial and contract catering footprints.
Technology and automation emerged as key themes in global sustainability discussions at this year’s UN Climate Summit. COP30 saw leaders and innovators double down on the idea that digital developments and advancements are crucial to meet environmental targets, particularly in sectors where emissions remain stubbornly high, like food production and agriculture.
The Green Digital Action Hub (GDAH) is one of the most notable initiatives to emerge from the conference, a platform supporting technological climate solutions across 82 countries. Stemming from the Green Digital Action Declaration agreed at COP29 last year, the GDAH brings together organisations including the World Bank and the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability, with the aim of connecting governments and industries to deploy and scale sustainable digital tools.
COP30 also saw the introduction of The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute, a global initiative designed to support governments in developing technology-based solutions for climate action. Its goal is to integrate digital tools into climate strategies in a coordinated way, ensuring that technologies are used sustainably and in alignment with broader climate goals.
Food Waste & The Food Waste Breakthrough
One of the most effective ways that the GDAH and the AI Institute can be utilised is by improving the efficiency of the agriculture industry. Approximately one-third of all food produced globally – over 1billion tonnes – is wasted each year, contributing up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste alone accounts for around 14% of methane emissions, a pollutant that is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
Given that food and agriculture are responsible for roughly 30% of global emissions, reducing waste is a cost-effective, scalable, and high-impact pathway to cutting carbon, combating hunger and reducing economic inequality. In addition, the financial cost of wasted food is estimated at $1 trillion USD and only reinforces this urgency further.
In response, COP30 marked the launch of the Food Waste Breakthrough, a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) initiative aimed at halving global food waste by 2030 and cutting methane emissions by 7% as part of a wider effort to slow climate change. Backed by the Global Environment Facility, UNEP will roll out a $3 million, four-year programme to scale food waste prevention and methane mitigation strategies in developing countries.
Increasing efficiencies through automation and AI
This global momentum creates a powerful opportunity for the food and beverage (F&B) industry to adopt technologies that reduce waste and improve operational efficiency. AI and automation are already being adopted to streamline repetitive, rule-based tasks to provide operators with data-driven insights, but broader support from COP30 initiatives could help scale these tools more effectively.
While automation is often discussed in the context of saving labour, some of the most impactful advances are happening behind the scenes within data capabilities. AI-powered predictive analytics allows F&B operators to bring food production into line with its actual demand through real-time data analysis. Historically, operators have largely relied on sales data and guesswork, but algorithms can now process real-time data from point-of-sale systems, reservations, and even include local events to predict what will sell, and when. This gives operators the insight they need to prepare the correct quantities, leading to a reduction in overproduction and resulting in less food waste as well as a more dynamic and informed approach to menu planning.
Advancements in IoT and automation also mean that F&B operators can achieve real-time visibility into stock levels, which has traditionally been inaccurate and inefficient, taking to manage manually than is realistically possible. Modern smart shelves and sensors can track inventory across stock rooms, and automatically flag when supplies run low, or trigger automatic reorders. These systems can also track environmental conditions like temperature and humidity and inform users how to avoid spoiling perishable goods.
The technology can provide data so that operators successfully employ approaches like First Expired, First-Out (FEFO) management, meaning that caterers can use up ingredients before they spoil, ultimately leading to less food waste. Finally, automation also supports sustainability from the consumer side. Operators can use EPoS systems to integrate carbon labelling, to giving people better visibility of the environmental impact of their food choices.
By connecting EPoS systems with carbon calculation platforms, operators can display the carbon footprint of items on digital menus, providing transparency at the point of sale and empowering more informed, sustainable decisions. COP30 has highlighted that technology and automation aren’t just making operations more efficient, but they are also powerful tools in the fight against climate change. By gathering and using real-time data, F&B operators can make smarter decisions, reduce waste and take meaningful steps toward sustainability, proving that even small changes can have a real impact on the planet.
Image: Charanjeet Dhiman / Unsplash
By Maxwell Harding, CEO and Founder of digital ordering platform, Dynamify, a complete EPOS solution for off-high street catering and food retail services.
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