Leanpath: How AI Could Reduce Food Waste at the Heart of the Foodservice Industry
Food waste is one of the most costly aspects of the food system, both to the planet and to the purse. And its carbon footprint is particularly heavy in the global foodservice sector, which accounts for 27% of worldwide food waste according to a 2024 United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report.
An intelligent food waste tracking system from Leanpath has prevented over 130 million pounds of kitchen waste in more than 45 countries, according to the initiative. Working with foodservice organizations across the world, its technology captures critical details of every food waste transaction in the kitchens of its clients.
Making food waste visible, claims Leanpath, is the key to drive action to reduce it. Leanpath’s suite of intelligent hardware and software tools with AI-powered tracking and a new AI-based food waste coaching assistant are designed to work together to highlight the waste that is so often hidden or forgotten in professional kitchens.
A suite of smart scales and cameras measure all food waste stemming from overproduction, spoilage, trim waste (and other sources). Leanpath’s food waste dashboard pinpoints waste patterns. With graphics giving waste overview summaries, participation reports, and trend reports, Leanpath states they create a clear new plan for behavior change with efficiency and precision driving the savings in waste and money.
In the foodservice industry, sustainability and financial goals share a common purpose. For any business looking to improve its triple bottom line, learning how to reduce waste at the source is a no-brainer. Leanpath’s aim is to reform the global food system and reach Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which seeks to cut food waste by half. The company claims that its unique range of tools and strategies to prevent overproduction and other causes of food waste will ensure economic, social, and environmental benefits for the entire industry.
Since it was founded in 2004, Leanpath has worked with more than 4,000 sites around the globe including partnerships with Sodexo, Compass, Aramark, Google and hundreds of other clients.
Leanpath says that it has already prevented 10 million pounds of food waste at Google alone, the equivalent of eliminating 25,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Learn more about Leanpath.
Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by Leanpath
