Food Waste Intelligence

The United States Tour Operators Association has awarded Uniworld Boutique River Cruise’s Sustainability Officer Julie Higgins its Future Lights Award for contributions to sustainability in the tourism industry. 

The organization highlighted Higgins’s “industry-leading efforts to reduce food waste” with Leanpath as her key achievement this year. As the association explained:

“As Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ Sustainability Officer, as well as Director of Hotel Operators, Julie Higgins spearheads all sustainability initiatives at the brand, including Uniworld’s industry-leading efforts to reduce food waste. In 2020, Julie was charged with identifying a suitable food waste management solution for ships, a task that included working with limited space onboard, weight restrictions, and more. With her leadership, Uniworld began implementing the selected system, Leanpath, in August 2021, making it the first river cruise company with a food waste management system on board. Julie personally visited each ship to ensure implementation and training. In 2023, 13 ships are to have the system implemented to decrease food waste. So far, Uniworld has reduced its food waste by 34% from its baseline and has saved more than 13,156 kg of food waste.”  

Higgins, who has been with the company for 20 years, is also leading Uniworld’s efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Reducing food waste is one of the biggest levers foodservice operations have to reduce their carbon footprint.

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