To combat food wastage from hotel buffets and events, Hilton Singapore Orchard has deployed a Winnow System, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that uses a motion camera to accurately measure and track food waste in real-time.
Winnow collects detailed data on the types and quantities of discarded food, providing the hotel’s kitchens with actionable insights.
“By analysing this data, we can identify patterns and pinpoint areas where waste occurs, allowing us to optimise food preparation during kitchen production and in return, reduce costs and food waste,” Rupert Hallam, general manager, Hilton Singapore Orchard, shared with TTGmice.
For instance, Estate, the hotel’s all-day dining buffet, uses Winnow’s insights to adjust quantities of food prepared, ensuring it meets guests’ demands without overproducing. Similarly, the culinary team can plan menus and portions more precisely for events and banquets, reducing food surplus.
Hallam added: “Our goal is to reduce overproduction and food waste by 30 per cent by the end of the year. Aside from the Winnow system, we are focusing on our kitchens’ production – particularly the cold kitchen – which produces a larger amount of fruit and vegetable trimmings. These trimmings and peels are often repurposed into stocks, sauces, or garnishes, ensuring that we utilise every part of the ingredient.”
Hilton Singapore Orchard also boasts an Eco-Wiz Digester on property, where food waste is decomposed and filtered into non-potable water which can be safely disposed of in the sewers, while maintaining optimal levels of aeration, moisture and temperature.
Other sustainability measures the property has in place include in-room motion sensors to conserve electricity, an onsite water filtration plant and bottling system, and a commitment to source local produce where possible.
Event planners can be assured that events held at the property will be sustainable, thanks to its Meet with Purpose programme, which aims to create meaningful change for both meeting attendees and communities by integrating social and environmental considerations into events.
Hallam added: “Hilton Singapore Orchard has also implemented a Meeting Impact Calculator, with the option of purchasing carbon offsets. Based on 2023’s data from the Meeting Impact Calculator, a total of 54.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were offset at no cost to the events.”
Hilton Singapore Orchard is currently in talks with Farmd, an indoor vertical farm in Singapore that carries over 40 seed varieties from around the world, which can be grown and harvested locally in a sustainable and controlled environment while maintaining flavours and nutritional value.
“We are aiming to introduce this by 3Q2024,” said Hallam.
The property itself has been certified with “Green Mark Gold” by the Building and Construction Authority in Singapore since its opening in 2022. This year, Hilton Singapore Orchard is working towards achieving “Green Mark Platinum” – an even higher accolade, as well as being certified by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Hilton Singapore Orchard is the first and largest Hilton property in Singapore to partner with Winnow. The hotel group plans to implement Winnow’s AI technology across 20 more properties in South-east Asia this year. Properties that already have Winnow installed include Conrad Bali, Doubletree by Hilton Shah Alam i-City, and Hilton Kuala Lumpur.
