What happens when you bring together the UAE’s biggest players in food and hospitality, from restaurant groups and hotel giants to the likes of MMI and Emirates Leisure Retail (ELR)? You get a powerful coalition with one goal in mind: cutting food loss, fast.
In a major step forward, the UAE Restaurant Group (UAERG) has thrown its weight behind ne’ma’s first-ever Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study – a nationwide initiative that will collect real, measurable data across every stage of the food chain. The aim is to create the country’s first national benchmarks for food waste and turn pledges into evidence-based action.
‘We are thrilled to support this vital study by ne’ma alongside HAMA MEA (Hospitality Asset Managers Association Middle East & Africa) and Dubai Hotel Group as we collectively work towards a more efficient and sustainable future for the UAE’s hospitality sector,’ said Abdulla Al Mulla, Chairman of UAERG. ‘By leveraging our platform and industry network, we aim to empower restaurants to make meaningful changes that significantly reduce food waste in the years to come.’
With the support of heavyweights like Dubai Hotel Group, and sustainability-driven brands like MMI, the study is set to lay the groundwork for serious change across the UAE’s hospitality sector.
The initiative will empower restaurants, hotels, and F&B operators to adopt unified measurement tools and best practices that reduce food waste and align with the UAE’s goal of halving food loss by 2030 in line with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.
‘We’re proud to back ne’ma’s mission,’ said Tyrone Reid, CEO of ELR and MMI, and board member of UAERG. ‘By embedding data-driven practices across our member restaurants, we’re helping build a more resilient and globally recognised hospitality sector, one that treats sustainability as a business priority, not just a buzzword.’
Food Loss Working Group
Food loss in the UAE is staggeringly high. According to government estimates, the country wastes around 3.2 million tonnes of food every year – roughly 38 per cent of total food prepared. That’s the equivalent of every person throwing away more than 200 kilograms of food annually.
The majority of this waste happens not just at home, but across retail, events, and hospitality, where buffets, oversized portions, and lack of tracking contribute heavily to the problem. In a region where much of the food is imported, and water resources are limited, the environmental and economic cost of this waste is particularly severe.
That’s where the new baseline study led by ne’ma comes in. Designed to give restaurants, hotels, and F&B leaders the tools and data they need to tackle food waste at the source, it also marks the beginning of a proposed cross-industry sustainability working group, bringing together UAERG, HAMA MEA, and Dubai Hotel Group to help position the UAE as a regional leader in sustainable hospitality.
As Amit Nayak, Chairman of Dubai Hotel Group, puts it: ‘Sustainability is no longer a choice. It’s a responsibility.’
