Reducing Food Waste at Philz

A message from Andi, our VP of Coffee & Sustainability

One of the many things tugging on my sustainability heart strings and weighing heavy on my mind at Philz is food waste.?Not only is food waste an enormous problem in the United States and globally, but food waste contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.?

?Food Waste Facts*:

• 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted every year
• ?Globally, over ? of food is wasted every year
• This contributes to 10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions
• Each meal rescued is equivalent to the CO2e emission of charging one smartphone fully 422 times
• Reducing food waste is the most impactful action an individual can take against climate change?

Given that two of our ambitious sustainability goals at Philz include working towards Net Zero Carbon Emissions and Zero Waste, tackling food waste within our retail stores is essential. On top of these environmentally driven goals, we have been longtime supporters of Food 4 Farmers, where we have given generously of funds and time to address the issue of food scarcity in coffee farming communities. The irony of investing to prevent food scarcity while simultaneously struggling to reduce our food waste is a huge concern for our retail sustainability committee. I’m comforted to know that we are making real progress!

?I’ve been very excited to support our retail committee and 10 test stores in a partnership we are piloting with Too Good To Go (TGTG).?The concept and execution are very simple and the rewards are high.?We not only get to save wasted “meals”, we get to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and gain exposure to new potential customers in our Philz communities.

?About Too Good To Go:

• Too Good To Go app is the world’s #1 marketplace for buying surplus food. Connecting users with uneaten, extra products at local restaurants, cafes, bakeries and grocery stores to ensure delicious food doesn’t go to waste at the end of the day
• Users can pick up Surprise Bags of food - a mix of fresh, unsold food - at a range of local eateries
• This presents a win-win-win solution in which consumers get great food, store owners no longer throw away delicious surplus, and we, together, help the planet by reducing waste.
• ?Founded in 2016 in Copenhagen, and now available in 17 countries, Too Good To Go saves over 250,000 meals every day and 2 meals per second.

We have seen huge success from our 10 pilot stores in just one month.?From Dec 21st, 2021 through January 20th, 2022:

• Meals** Saved =?303
• Kg of CO2e** saved = 757.5?

The real goal for us and for TGTG is to never have any excess inventory. The win for us (and I truly believe for TGTG) are the days where we have no excess food to offer.?However, with Philz’ mission to better people’s days and our value to obsess over customers, we never want a customer to miss out on their favorite treat when they walk in our stores.?We are, however, committed to ensuring that supply is not wasted. We recognize that there is still progress to be made. We will continue to analyze our demand and adjust our supply accordingly. We will continue to gather data from our TGTG pilot stores- and expand to more Philz locations. And we will continue to find innovative ways to get our food waste down to zero. We invite you to join us in this pursuit by checking out the TGTG app, or others like it in your area.?

Download the Too Good To Go App HERE

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*Food Waste Info and Stats compiled by Too Good To Go.?Additional information here.

**Meals are defined as one surprise bag valued at $12 + retail value and estimated at 1 kg of food.

***Each Kg of food is considered equivalent to 2.5 kg of CO2e.

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