The Food Revolution

We eat our way to a better world

We do not just want to serve good food experiences. We also want to contribute to a positive development for people and the environment. Therefore we invest in sustainable food. Join the food revolution!

What we serve affects the health, environment and of course the animals that provide for us. As one of the largest hotel chains in the Nordic countries, we do not just want to serve good food experiences, but we also want to contribute to a positive development in society. As the large actor that we are, we also have the opportunity to make a big difference.

Since 2008, we have offered organic alternatives to our guests at the breakfast buffet. But sustainable food is more than just being organic. We invest wholeheartedly in health, climate and environment by serving healthy foods which have been responsibly produced. We will have more fruit and vegetables on our tables, promote good animal welfare and fair conditions for those who produce the raw materials. We will throw away less food and support sustainable management of natural resources.

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Reduce food waste

Smaller plates - less waste

Of all the food that is produced in the world 33% ends up as waste. That is, of course, not sustainable. Reducing food waste is something that all our hotels work on, and you can contribute! Our hotel restaurants conducted tests and managed to determine that smaller plates lead to less food waste. By decreasing the plates by a few centimeters and putting up a sign with a prompt to finish the food, food waste was reduced by 20%. GreeNudge helped us document the effect.

For health and environment

Nudging - Size matters!

Literally, "nudge" means to give someone a little push. Within food and health it is a method of giving small suggestions that will push people toward better habits, without forcing them to.

In our case, these changes have taken place at the buffet tables. In 2015, we did a test where fish and vegetables were placed before the meat at the buffet. Next to a couple of dishes we put out a sign that read Eat Smart. The result was that more guests ate more of the food that was placed at the beginning of the buffet and less meat.

The text on the sign translates into "We love full stomachs and empty plates!".

The Red List

Only sustainable meat and fish on the table

We have used WWF's fish guide to create its own red list (red listing is there to evaluate and judge the conditions for species in nature. The results is a red list that is used to decide which meat and fish products should be avoided, editor's note.) We do not want the food that we serve to come from a producer known for animal abuse, in danger or anyway harm the environment. All hotels must follow the red list.

Prawns

Certified tiger prawns

After the warning about polluting shrimp farms, destruction of mangrove swamps and poor working conditions, many of us stopped eating tiger prawns. But thanks to ASC, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, you can now eat tiger prawns with a good conscience, as long as they are ASC-certified.

Learn more about certification

What is required for the food to be organic?

Since 2008, we have been serving organic food alternatives at all hotels. All coffee and eggs are organic. In addition, there is always a selection of fruit and vegetables, tea, milk and at least one type of organic bread at each breakfast buffet.

In order for a product to be classified as organic, it must not have been produced with artificial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, genetically modified organisms, plant hormones or other synthetic plant regulating agents. In addition, there are clear rules for raising animals, for the number of animals in relation to the space they have to move around in.

Eggs from happy hens

More than 10 million eggs are served in our hotels every year. As a result, we employ approximately 30,000 hens. Because all the eggs are organic, the hens receive a better quality of life than other hens. They are allowed to move around freely, have the opportunity to move in and out all year round and have more space to move. They have access to daylight and receive organic feed as they look out for themselves, a natural behavior for hens.

In 2013, we won the Good Egg Awards, an award given to a company that is obligated to only serve eggs free range or organic hens. We are proud of this!

Coffee for the future

To produce the 30 million cups of coffee served at our hotels, 35 tons of artificial fertilizer and 220,000 liters of pesticides would have been used. Unless the coffee was organic.

The coffee is also Fair Trade. It is grown where the tree shade creates an oasis for endangered birds. The best start to the day is with a coffee cup that gives you a good conscience!

The Fair Trade label ensures that the coffee farmers get a minimum price that they can live off of. They have the possibility to plan their business long term and care for the environment. Part of the market price goes to important functions for the society such as schools, water wells, roads, healthcare and work equipment where the coffee is grown.

More about ethical trade

EAT

EAT connects health and environmental challenges with food and puts sustainable food on the global agenda.

In 2013, we wished to put healthy and sustainable food on society's agenda. The plan was to arrange a breakfast meeting with this theme. During the year, the project grew from internal work within the company to become the independent organization EAT.

EAT has now grown even larger and is one of the most important global actors in healthy and sustainable food. Strawberry is still the largest business partner and a proud collaborator with an organization that puts health and sustainable food on the global agenda.

EAT's vision is: "To transform the global food system to sustainably supply and feed a healthy population of over 9 billion people in 2050 ".

Learn more about EAT here

No bad palm oil

When you stay with us you help preserve the rainforest. We have gradually gotten rid of all bad palm oil from our food, which means the rainforest can last, instead of being cut down to create room for palm oil plantations. Rainforest eradication is one of today's biggest environmental problems, for example in Indonesia and Malaysia – two countries accounting for 85% of the world's palm oil production.

Palm oil is the cheapest and most produced vegetable oil in the world. The demand has doubled since 2000 and keeps increasing. You can find it in many food products such as margarine, crackers, chocolate, chips and soups.

Completely palm oil-free hotel

In 2012 Quality Hotel Fredrikstad became the world's first hotel whose food is free from palm oil. 2014 followed all Clarion Hotel. They comply with the policy that all palm oil used must be sustainably produced.

This means that the palm oil is approved according to Roundtable on Sustainable Palmoil (RSPO)'s two strictest levels: identity preserved or segregated.

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