The damage the food industry contributes to our planet is quite severe: one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of freshwater use. In Indonesia, 50% of landfill waste is organic, much of it food. Now how come so few of us in the F&B industry use our mind space and time to reduce our industry’s negative impact? What can we do?
There are now many sustainable solutions offered for the F&B business in Indonesia. On Thursday, 16 January and 23 January, 2025, Paloma Sjahrir Foundation in collaboration with Brightspot Market hosted our second and third “Paloma Circles: Sustainable F&B Networking” events, where we showcased successful collaborations between sustainable startups and their F&B clients:
- Waste4Change offers responsible waste management for all types of waste and zero waste to landfill service (residue waste converted to energy) to Brightspot Market and The Dharmawangsa.
- Duitin manages the recycling of Toko Kopi Tuku.
- Boolet creates table tops from upcycled used skewers and chopsticks of Sarirasa Group‘s restaurants (including Sate Khas Senayan).
- Sarirasa Tanah Mula shared how their waste reduction efforts from their central kitchen and 75+ restaurants has been financially lucrative, and now they are offering this service to other chains, and soon to malls.
- Noovoleum transforms used cooking oil from Masagi Koffee into sustainable aviation fuel.
- Kecipir, a platform selling organic vegetables and products straight from the farm, met with Common Grounds Coffee Roastery at our event in March 2024. Since then, Kecipir picks up the coffee grounds and eggshells of Common Grounds, adds some organic additives and makes organic fertilizer for the organic farms in their network. Kopi Kalyan and Dough Lab has also joined in this effort.
- Surplus Indonesia’s recommerce platform helps Doughzen sell their unsold doughnuts at a discount to reduce food waste.
- Food Cycle Indonesia distributes surplus food from Sodexo Indonesia to local orphanages, nursing homes and communities in need. Food Cycle also picks up the organic food waste and turns it into animal feed using Black Soldier Flies.
- WaterHub & Purezza – reverse osmosis water purification systems offer refillable solutions, reducing packaging and carbon emissions. Jago Coffee uses WaterHub to ensure the consistency of the water in their coffee across locations. The Bimasena uses still & sparkling water from Purezza, reducing total water costs and reduces the space needed by gallon water.
Together, we’re demonstrating how we can enjoy great meals with reduced harm to the planet.
If you’re interested to learn more about these solutions please see: paloma.org/fnb2025
If you’re passionate about building a more sustainable F&B industry or eager to join this vibrant ecosystem, let’s connect and make a difference!
