Hilton KL slashes food waste by nearly half
PETALING JAYA: Hilton Kuala Lumpur's Green Ramadan initiative has proven its success by reducing food waste nearly 50%, marking a major step in the hotel's sustainability efforts during the recent festive season.
General manager Linda Pecoraro (pic) said through a combination of strategic planning, innovative waste reduction techniques and community partnerships, the hotel has been able to curb excess food while still delivering a high-quality dining experience for guests.
She highlighted that the hotel's Ramadan buffet, known for its extensive spread, has undergone a transformation with a focus on sustainability.
'By analysing guest dining patterns and adjusting portion sizes accordingly, the hotel has minimised surplus food.
'We noticed that certain dishes tend to be overproduced, leading to unnecessary waste. By closely monitoring consumption trends, we have managed to fine-tune our preparations and cut food waste by nearly half in the first year (2024). We aim to further reduce food waste in 2025 to ensure less unnecessary waste,' she told SunBiz.
She said the hotel has partnered with local charities to donate surplus food, ensuring that unserved excess reaches those in need instead of being discarded, adding that this initiative aligns with Hilton's global environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitment to cutting food waste in half by 2030.
She remarked that composting has played a key role in the hotel's strategy, with food scraps being repurposed into organic fertiliser.
'This practice not only reduces landfill but also supports urban farming efforts in the city,' Pecoraro added.
She said, leveraging Winnow's AI-powered food waste tracking system, the hotel was able to obtain real-time insights into food waste, allowing kitchen teams to make precise adjustments to good preparation and production.
She remarked that a major contributor to the success of the programme has been the emphasis on guest education.
'Diners are encouraged to take only what they can finish, with subtle reminders placed throughout the buffet area.
'We have also incorporated more plant-based options into our Ramadan menu, which require fewer resources to produce compared to meat-based dishes.
'This shift is in line with growing consumer demand for sustainable dining choices.
'The hotel's culinary team has worked to creatively utilise ingredients that might otherwise go to waste. For instance, vegetable peels and bones are turned into broths, while overripe fruits are repurposed into desserts and beverages,' she remarked.
Pecoraro said the hotel's Green Ramadan initiative reflects a broader shift in the hospitality industry, where sustainability is becoming a core focus.
'Other hotels in Malaysia are expected to follow suit as eco-conscious practices gain traction,' she added.
With the success of this programme, she said the hotel is exploring ways to make its food waste reduction efforts a permanent feature beyond Ramadan.
'Plans are in place to integrate similar strategies across other dining operations throughout the year,' she explained.
As the hospitality sector continues to embrace greener practices, Pecoraro stated that the hotel's initiative sets a benchmark for sustainable dining, proving that luxury and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Human coders are still better than AI, says this expert developer
Your team members may be tempted to rely on AI to help them write code for your company, either for cost or speed rationales or because they lack particular expertise. But you should be wary. — Pixabay In the complex 'will AI steal my job?' debate, software developers are among the workers most immediately at risk from powerful AI tools. It's certainly looking like the tech sector wants to reduce the number of humans working those jobs. Bold statements from the likes of Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Anthropic's Dario Amodei support this since both of them say AI is already able to take over some code-writing roles. But a new blog post from a prominent coding expert strongly disputes their arguments, and supports some AI critics' position that AI really can't code. Salvatore Sanfilippo, an Italian developer who created Redis (an online database which calls itself the 'world's fastest data platform' and is beloved by coders building real-time apps), published a blog post this week, provocatively titled 'Human coders are still better than LLMs.' His title refers to large language model systems that power AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. Sanfilippo said he's 'not anti-AI' and actually does 'use LLMs routinely,' and explained some specific interactions he'd had with Google's Gemini AI about writing code. These left him convinced that AIs are 'incredibly behind human intelligence,' so he wanted to make a point about it. The billions invested in the technology and the potential upending of the workforce mean it's 'impossible to have balanced conversations' on the matter, he wrote. Sanfilippo blogged that he was trying to 'fix a complicated bug' in Redis's systems. He made an attempt himself, and then asked Gemini, 'hey, what we can do here? Is there a super fast way' to implement his fix? Then, using detailed examples of the kind of software he was working with and the problem he was trying to fix, he blogged about the back-and-forth dialogue he had with Gemini as he tried to coax it toward an acceptable answer. After numerous interactions where the AI couldn't improve on his idea or really help much, he said he 'asked Gemini to do an analysis of (his last idea, and it was finally happy.' We can ignore the detailed code itself and just concentrate on Sanfilippo's final paragraph. 'All this to say: I just finished the analysis and stopped to write this blog post, I'm not sure if I'm going to use this system (but likely yes), but, the creativity of humans still have an edge, we are capable of really thinking out of the box, envisioning strange and imprecise solutions that can work better than others,' he wrote. 'This is something that is extremely hard for LLMs.' Gemini was useful, he admitted, to simply 'verify' his bug-fix ideas, but it couldn't outperform him and actually solve the problem itself. This stance from an expert coder goes up against some other pro-AI statements. Zuckerberg has said he plans to fire mid-level coders from Meta to save money, employing AI instead. In March, Amodei hit the headlines when he boldly predicted that all code would be written by AIs inside a year. Meanwhile, on the flip side, a February report from Microsoft warned that young coders coming out of college were already so reliant on AI to help them that they failed to understand the hard computer science behind the systems they were working on –something that may trip them up if they encountered a complex issue like Sanfilippo's bug. Commenters on a piece talking about Sanfilippo's blog post on coding news site Hacker News broadly agreed with his argument. One commenter likened the issue to a popular meme about social media: 'You know that saying that the best way to get an answer online is to post a wrong answer? That's what LLMs do for me.' Another writer noted that AIs were useful because even though they give pretty terrible coding advice, 'It still saves me time, because even 50 percent accuracy is still half that I don't have to write myself.' Lastly, another coder pointed out a very human benefit from using AI: 'I have ADHD and starting is the hardest part for me. With an LLM it gets me from 0 to 20% (or more) and I can nail it for the rest. It's way less stressful for me to start now.' Why should you care about this? At first glance, it looks like a very inside-baseball discussion about specific coding issues. You should care because your team members may be tempted to rely on AI to help them write code for your company, either for cost or speed rationales or because they lack particular expertise. But you should be wary. AIs are known to be unreliable, and Sanfilippo's argument, supported by other coders' comments, point out that AI really isn't capable of certain key coding tasks. For now, at least, coders' jobs may be safe… and if your team does use AI to code, they should double and triple check the AI's advice before implementing it in your IT system. – Inc./Tribune News Service
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Tobacco ban to hit sales, footfall at convenience stores, mini-marts
KUALA LUMPUR: Convenience store chains and mini-marts across Malaysia are bracing for a significant hit from the impending ban on the open display of tobacco products, a regulatory move that could shake up revenue models heavily reliant on tobacco sales. The Ministry of Health announced the tobacco display ban in October 2024, initially set for April 1, 2025, but now phased with full enforcement by Oct 1, 2025. Retailers must store tobacco and vape products in closed cabinets, not openly. Analysts caution that major players like 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd (SEM), which generates about 33 per cent of its total revenue from tobacco products, are particularly vulnerable. Other chains like KK Super Mart and MyNews are also expected to be affected, though to varying degrees depending on their reliance on tobacco sales. In contrast, 99 Speedmart may be less impacted given its stronger emphasis on household essentials and grocery items. "Tobacco purchases frequently trigger impulse buys of snacks, beverages, and other essentials. With the display ban, these secondary sales could decline, potentially reducing both store traffic and basket size," said an analyst who requested anonymity. He added that convenience retailers will need to revamp their shelving layouts and possibly retrain staff, incurring compliance costs that could weigh heavily on smaller chains with fewer resources. CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd said that despite a temporary reprieve, it warns that companies like SEM are not out of the woods. "Although the delay offers SEM some near-term reprieve, the eventual enforcement of the ban may weigh on its top-line performance," CIMB cautioned in a research note, citing an expected decline in tobacco-related sales. CIMB said that SEM continues to face mounting regulatory and cost challenges, despite reporting steady revenue growth for the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025). SEM reported a 10.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue for Q1 2025, largely driven by 7.1 per cent same-store sales growth. The growth was attributed to a low base effect from Q1 2024, longer operating hours, and an accelerated rollout of the modern 7-Café format. However, rising costs are eroding gains. The Feb 1, 2025, nationwide minimum wage hike to RM1,700 and longer business hours pushed SEM's operating expenses up by 10.2 per cent YoY. As a result, EBITDA margin remained flat at 11.8 per cent, while core net profit edged up just 0.5 per cent YoY. Looking ahead, CIMB expects QoQ earnings improvement in Q2 2025, helped by post-Ramadan consumer spending and continued expansion of 7-Café outlets. Margins are forecast to stay steady, supported by higher-margin fresh food sales and improved operating leverage. "We understand that SEM remains committed to its store opening target (of 100 new outlets this year) and will be accelerating its store rollout in subsequent quarters to meet its target by end-Dec 2025," it said. Despite the positive growth trajectory, CIMB maintains a 'Reduce' rating on the stock, with a target price of RM1.63, citing long-term challenges such as intensifying competition in the convenience retail space and mounting cost pressures. SEM's share price has remained largely unchanged in 2025, fluctuating between RM1.96 and RM2.00, with a brief dip to RM1.90 in late January. Notable shareholders include Classic Union Group Ltd (26.3 per cent), Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun (22.4 per cent), and PERKESO (4.6 per cent), with public investors holding 14 per cent.
Focus Malaysia
20 hours ago
- Focus Malaysia
Six in 10 professionals in Malaysia believe four-day workweeks would boost productivity
RECRUITMENT and workforce solutions specialist Hays has recently polled working professionals on LinkedIn across five locations in Asia including Malaysia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and Singapore where respondents were asked to weigh in on their sense of productivity in four-day workweek. The findings reveal strong support for the model in Malaysia, where 65% of respondents believe they would be more focused if required to complete their tasks within a four-day timeframe, followed by Japan (54%) and Singapore (49%). China led the region, with 73% of professionals expressing confidence in their ability to maintain focus and productivity under a shorter workweek model. 'The appeal of a four-day workweek continues to grow among professionals who value greater efficiency and focus in their roles,' said Natasha Ishak, Regional Director at Hays Malaysia. 'This is particularly relevant in the Malaysian context, where 35% of professionals polled in the Hays Asia Salary Guide reported dissatisfaction with their work-life balance.' Resistance to the concept was minimal, with only four per cent of respondents expressing concern that the workload would be too heavy for a shortened week. Meanwhile, seven per cent indicated that the change would have little impact due to already having flexible schedules, and 24% said their performance would depend on the nature of their role. Shorter workweeks linked to greater job satisfaction and productivity The concept of offering professionals an additional day of rest within the standard workweek continues to gain traction globally. A pilot study in the United Kingdom demonstrated that participants in a reduced workweek reported fewer absences and lower turnover, outcomes closely linked to improved work-life balance. 'Promoting work-life balance has become a key factor in attracting and retaining talent in Malaysia. Today, 39% of professionals consider these policies when seeking new opportunities, and 42% cite them as a reason for staying with their current employer,' said Natasha. Beyond boosting employee productivity, shorter workweeks also help reduce operating costs, allowing organisations committed to remaining closed one extra day a week to save on utilities and other overheads. These efficiencies contribute meaningfully to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) goals by lowering carbon emissions, supporting employee wellbeing, and reinforcing a company's commitment to sustainable and socially responsible business practices. Uprooting a tradition of work culture Despite the growing interest in shorter workweeks, it remains unclear how many organisations have formally adopted the four-day model. The traditional five-day workweek continues to be the global norm, but signs of change are emerging. 'While the four-day workweek is not yet common in Malaysia, there has been notable progress in adopting flexible work arrangements,' noted Natasha. 'Over 50% of organisations surveyed provide remote work opportunities, demonstrating a strategic focus on enhancing employee wellbeing and improving retention.' According to Natasha, as more data emerges on the advantages of four-day workweeks, the focus is shifting towards how organisations can implement this model effectively and sustainably. 'The challenge lies in crafting a clear strategy that enables this transition while staying competitive in a rapidly evolving job market,' she added. ‒ June 5, 2025
