Sysco wins Green Apple waste management award

Sysco GB has won a major sustainability accolade at the Green Apple Awards.

Sysco picked up the Retail & Wholesale Waste Management Green Champions award for the work it has undertaken across its British sites to improve sustainability. This includes increasing recycling rates of materials like wooden pallets, cardboard and shrinkwrap as well as redistributing surplus food to charities that support local communities.

The award recognises Sysco’s work since 2019 to cut waste per £m turnover by 15.2%, while increasing recycling and reuse rates from 83% to 88%. Initiatives included extending the life of the company’s wooden pallets, halving the volume that go to waste.

Across the Sysco network, improved lifecycle management has reduced surplus and improved donations. Donation partnerships at every site have contributed to millions of meals donated to good causes, including more than 13 million meals through FareShare.

This work is critical to achieving Sysco’s environmental targets, contributing to its ‘Global Good Goal’ to create $500 million of good to its communities of which food donation is a significant part.

Sysco is also helping to reduce waste at its customers’ sites by training its own chefs and sales teams in techniques and ideas that deliver more sustainable meals, alongside new products that help to control waste.

Paul Nieduszynski, chief executive of Sysco GB, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this sought-after award. It’s recognition of all the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that Sysco leads the way in sustainability in Great Britain. Across our business, in every depot, we champion doing the right thing and this award belongs to all those colleagues who help us put sustainability first.”

The Green Apples is one of the sector’s longest-running award schemes, recognising success in sustainability since 1994.