Airport Experience® News - Retail & Services Issue 2025

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

food. Through innovation and education, we are making significant progress towards sustainability. Scaling Sustainable Impact PPG pursues a broader ESG vision that extends beyond food waste, from our “farm to lounge” initiative to inclusive airport experiences, social impact, and the well being of our passengers and employees and more. Guided by our mission of making travel better, we will continue to explore the integration of regenerative approaches while expanding our global operations. We believe it is a collective effort across the industry, and we will collaborate with key stakeholders to create a more sustainable future for air travel – from lounges and restaurants, to passengers, airports, and the planet.

The Mindset Shift Reducing food waste requires more than technology – it demands a cultural transformation that extends beyond the kitchen and fosters greater awareness and engagement at every level. The bottom line is a mindset shift. Recently, we hosted a zero-waste masterclass at the Plaza Premium Lounge, KUL Terminal 2, to teach participants how to repurpose food waste. The session was led by internationally acclaimed plant-based chef and zero-waste expert Chef Vojtech Vegh and was attended by key personnel from the PPG culinary team, local chefs and our airport partners. We plan to extend this program globally as we believe it is important to educate everyone in the company to be mindful of waste and to inspire creativity in repurposing

Above: Plant-based chef and zero waste expert Chef Vojtech Vegh recently led a class focused on repurposing food waste for Plaza Premium Group culinary team members.

such as repurposing mushroom and broccoli trimmings into soup and turning bread trimmings into breadcrumbs. Within just six months, this approach resulted in a 10-ton reduction in food waste which is equivalent to 25,000 meals, saving 43 tons of CO2e emissions. This use case demonstrates how data-driven insights and targeted actions can effectively minimize waste. After a successful launch in Kuala Lumpur, we are preparing to roll out this initiative to key high-traffic locations and regions globally. As we continue to scale this program, we anticipate making an even greater impact.

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AX NEWS SEPTEMBER 2025