As Sustainability Ambassador for WTCE 2025, what does this role mean to you?
I was honoured to be asked back as the Sustainability Ambassador for the second year running. I’ve worked in this industry for over 25 years. I started a business called Monty’s Bakehouse in 2004. We led the way in removing unnecessary second service tray set-up and pioneered the introduction of sustainable oven-able packaging for inflight snacks. Environmental responsibility has always been important to me.
Once I left Monty’s, I was keen to ‘give back’ to a sector that has looked after me over the years. I started the Aviation Sustainability Forum (ASF) in 2019 to help the sector to reduce inflight waste and improve circularity. The Ambassador role is significant because it demonstrates the strategic importance of sustainability in all the businesses represented at WTCE. It also gives me unique insight into the great work that many companies are doing to become more sustainable, which I’m sharing through the Steps to Sustainability trail.
How do you see the role of sustainability evolving in the aviation and catering sectors in the next five to 10 years? What role do you believe WTCE and other industry events can play in driving this change?
We all recognise that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a major focus for the industry as a whole and will have the biggest impact when it comes to decarbonisation. There is a huge question mark over whether it is achievable to produce SAF in the quantities that we need – especially considering the growth projections for aviation in generall. But ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, so no doubt work will continue at pace to find the alternative fuel solutions we need.
There are undoubtedly pockets of great work in the inflight aviation and catering sectors when it comes to sustainability. We’ve made good progress in terms of working with renewable and recycled materials for onboard products with some companies beginning to go further and designing for the supply-chain rather than just the use of more sustainable materials. This should be encouraged, as the majority of sustainable materials used by airlines are incinerated or sent to landfill by law or cost constraints. This show and other industry events are an opportunity for companies to raise awareness of their work. I particularly value the Taste of Travel Theatre at WTCE and other speaker platforms where industry experts from across the sector can debate and challenge the status quo.
How do you think the industry is currently performing when it comes to sustainability?
As you would expect me to say – I think there is much more to be done – particularly around the waste challenge. The ASF Cabin Waste Composition Audit (CWCA) programme is helping the sector gather data on the size and scale of its waste problem. Cabin waste is currently 3.6 million tonnes of waste per annum. With passenger numbers set to double by 2050, we could be looking at nearly 8 million tonnes of waste being generated, with the majority sent to incineration or deep landfill. At the moment, airlines and caterers are trying to work out how much waste they generate.
With everyone doing this in different ways, data is inconsistent and not being shared. I would like to see everyone tracking and recording waste in the same way with the high level, aggregated data shared with IATA and other governing and regulatory bodies to help us all understand the true extent of the issue and tackle it together with shared best practice and a common understanding of the sector’s waste challenge.
Can you share some successful sustainability initiatives or collaborations you’ve been part of that have had a significant impact in the travel and catering industries?
ASF member SATS in Singapore has consistently made its catering units available to develop the ASF CWCA Programme. SATS has also been involved in the development of new recycling pathways that can act as a beacon of change for the entire sector. ASF clients of the CWCA Programme have not stopped collecting data, but are using it internally and in collaboration with other airlines and caterers to take the first steps in developing best practice, which can also be adopted across the aviation sector.
What key takeaways do you hope attendees will gain from your “What Goes Up – Will Come Down” session?
I’m really looking forward to it. We have a great selection of panellists from across the sector who are all very focussed on sustainability. I hope the key takeaways will provide attendees with valuable insight into how the sector can get a better understanding of its waste, why it needs to do so and potential waste and cost reduction solutions. We have Justin Cook from TUI on the panel, too. TUI has just completed the first part of its CWCA programme. He can share the company’s experience and talk about the data, solutions and targets that have come about as a result of the benchmark waste audits the ASF has completed with TUI.
Can you explain how the industry has evolved in its approach to waste management? What does the introduction of a standardised operating procedure mean for the future of waste reduction?
I think waste management has been low on the priority list for a long time. The International Catering Waste Regulations make it very difficult to make any changes to process and waste disposal. There’s also infrastructure change needed, such as cost and stakeholder alignment. It’s often put in the “too hard to do drawer”. With emphasis on more sustainable practice and many airlines now having to report on waste levels as part of their ESG reporting, it’s rising to the top of the in-tray and becoming the urgent issue it should be.
The introduction of IATA endorsed ASF CWCA Programme as the standard methodology for measuring and recording cabin and catering waste. The sector has a Standard Operating Procedure to sort, measure and record waste for the first time, which ensures that all stakeholders count the same things in the same way. This standardised approach guarantees accurate and consistent data capture and reporting, making for data driven decision making and robust, informed waste reduction target setting. The data is key to effective waste reduction and understanding the scale and types of waste.
The more airlines and caterers who participate in the programme, the richer the data. The aggregated data collected is then anonymised and shared with IATA, who can then support the work to harmonise regulation and report on overall effectiveness of the sector’s waste reduction strategies. I see ASF in the future being key to this data sharing piece and supporting the sector to make the necessary changes through shared initiatives and best practice.
Could you share some of the key challenges that airlines and catering suppliers face when it comes to separating and measuring cabin waste?
It’s a complex issue. Firstly, it’s a highly regulated area. There is International Catering Waste (ICW) regulation in many parts of the world that requires food waste and waste that has come into contact with food to be incinerated or sent to deep landfill. The regulation, however, is inconsistent. It is virtually impossible to have a unified waste strategy that is clear and easy to follow for all stakeholders. Before Brexit, airlines in the UK could recycle waste that had arrived from the EU. Post Brexit, they must now incinerate waste because it’s classified as ICW. Yet nothing has changed in terms of waste composition.
Secondly, there are numerous stakeholders involved in waste management. Commercially, some will not be as incentivised as others to reduce waste. With the industry set to double by 2050, we need to collectively see the bigger picture, bring all stakeholders on the same journey and work out how we grow sustainably together.
There are many other challenges, such as space and time onboard, short turnaround time on the ground, lack of recycling or waste space and infrastructure in airports. Suffice to say, it’s not an issue that any one party can solve alone. The solutions are out there, with some ‘quick wins’ we could implement right away. Using the standardised CWCA tools is a great first step in capturing the data that airlines and caterers need to be able to work out the solutions and monitor progress. An immediate change is to use the audit data generated to reduce product loading at departure without affecting the passenger experience. The sector currently sends to waste USD$2.5billion of untouched food – that’s enough to feed over a billion people with a 500g meal!
How do you see the role of passenger behaviour in reducing cabin and catering waste?
That’s an interesting point – I’m sure passengers have very little awareness of the waste issue. There are a number of things passengers can do to help reduce waste if the industry supports behavioural change. These include encouraging pre order and recycling or separation onboard. I think we have a responsibility to put the building blocks in place to solve our waste issue ourselves. It’s within our power to do so and it’s better to get our own house in order before we start asking passengers to get involved.
What is the key message you want attendees to walk away with after your session on cabin and catering waste at WTCE 2025?
This is an issue that is within our power to address now. Data is knowledge and the more we have, the more informed decisions we can make. Waste audits are essential and we now have the standardised tools to be able sort, measure and track waste consistently. Airlines and caterers should get involved now. What goes up will come down – there really is no time to waste.
Matt Crane is a founder of ASF and a WTCE Sustainability Ambassador. He will moderate ‘What goes up – Will come down’ at the Taste of Travel Theatre on Tuesday 8 April.
