Hilton Scales Up Green Ramadan Initiative in 2025, Achieves 26% Reduction in Plate Waste during the Holy Month

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Today, Hilton announced the results of its Green Ramadan 2025 initiative, revealing a 26% reduction in post-consumer plate waste during the holy month. The month-long effort helped avoid more than 2.6 tonnes of food waste, the equivalent of more than 6,000 meals – reinforcing Hilton’s commitment to reducing food waste across its hotels through consistent, measurable impact.

Building on the momentum of previous years, the programme marked the initiative’s biggest rollout yet, scaled across 45 hotels in 14 countries in EMEA and APAC, and served more than 340,000 guests during iftar and suhoor – traditional meals during Ramadan.

Participating hotels in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Malaysia, the Seychelles, Nigeria and beyond undertook extensive training and aimed to close the loop across the food value chain by focusing on local sourcing, sustainable gastronomy, diversion by donation, composting where possible and forensic waste management – closely monitoring items observed to be most frequently wasted on guest plates, which included bread and pastry, vegetables, meat and grains. By adopting interventions such as guest messaging, smaller portions, live cooking stations, efficient food displays and switching to set menus, the campaign broke through food waste awareness barriers with an educational and interactive approach.

Prior to the launch of this year’s initiative, hotel teams were given instructive upskilling sessions and a food waste prevention playbook based on the key learnings gained from Green Ramadan 2024. These insights contributed to the success of the 2025 campaign, with plate waste dropping from 102g to 64g per cover over the course of the month. Additionally, over 11 tonnes of CO2 emissions were prevented, equating to more than 720,000 smartphone charges.

The campaign was developed and delivered once again in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) West Asia under the impactful Recipe of Change campaign, and Winnow – an AI-enabled food waste management solution. In 2025, the programme saw even greater integration across hotel teams, with Green Ramadan becoming a platform for locally led action, data-driven decision-making, and consistent team engagement throughout the month. From front of house to kitchen operations, team members across departments worked together to create more sustainable dining experiences and reduce avoidable waste.

Notes to Editors

• Green Ramadan 2025 was implemented by 45 Hilton hotels across 14 countries in EMEA & APAC, following a competitive application process and toolkit-based rollout.
• A total of 342,559 meals were served across iftar and suhoor during the Holy Month.
• Plate waste dropped by 26%, from 102g to 64g per cover, between Week 1 and Week 4.
• Total food waste was reduced by 35%, with data tracked using Winnow’s AI technology and LightStay’s daily reporting.
• 6,376 meals were saved from being wasted, based on Winnow’s 400g per meal estimate.
• 2.6 tonnes of food waste and 10.9 tonnes of CO2e were avoided (based on a 4.3x multiplier for emissions savings).
• Hilton continues to partner with UNEP West Asia under the Recipe of Change campaign and Winnow to drive sustainable gastronomy and food value chain transformation across its global portfolio.