Our community coming together to turn food systems into low-carbon, high-value solutions.

 

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is often framed as a large-scale, complex challenge. But for the food and hospitality industry, some of the most impactful solutions are surprisingly practical, and already within reach.

At our April Future Green Members Monthly Meetup, hosted at Tong Chong Kitchen, the conversation focused on how businesses can reduce emissions through better decisions across food systems, operations, and waste management. As a space that brings together food, community, and experimentation, Tong Chong Kitchen provided the ideal setting to explore how sustainable practices can be applied in real-world kitchen environments.

The session featured Tommy Leung, Founder, and Warton Chieng, Director of Business Development at HakkoBako, who shared how innovation in food processing and fermentation can transform waste into opportunity

🌍 Why Food Systems Matter

Food systems contribute around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are often overlooked in mainstream climate discussions.

As highlighted during the session, industries tend to focus on energy, transport, or buildings, while food remains “the elephant in the room”, complex, but unavoidable.

This makes food one of the most immediate and actionable areas for businesses looking to reduce their environmental impact.

🍽️ The Operational Challenge

In cities like Hong Kong, food waste is not just an environmental issue, but an operational one.

Many businesses face the same challenge: managing surplus food can be costly due to logistics, handling, and limited processing options.

This creates a gap between intention and action, where businesses want to reduce waste, but lack practical, scalable solutions.

 

From food scraps to flavour: fermentation in action, transforming everyday by-products into high-value creations like bread miso.

 

🧪 Fermentation as a Practical Solution

A key focus of the session was fermentation, not as a niche concept, but as a practical tool for modern kitchens.

By using controlled fermentation processes, food by-products can be stabilised, extended in shelf life, and transformed into entirely new ingredients.

As Warton shared:

This shift allows kitchens to move from disposal to transformation, integrating circular thinking directly into daily operations.

 

🔄 Rethinking Production and Supply Chains

One example discussed was localising production. Instead of relying on imported ingredients like miso, which involve long supply chains and cold storage, businesses can produce similar products on-site.

This reduces transport emissions, simplifies logistics, and gives businesses greater control over their supply chains.

 

 

Bringing ideas to life: exploring fermentation and smarter food systems with Hakko Bako.

 

💡 Where Innovation Meets Business Value

A defining insight from the session was that sustainability is not a cost center, but rather a powerful driver of margin creation. By applying  fermentation to existing supply chains, businesses can move beyond traditional ‘waste management’ and begin the process of resource recovery.

This shift creates value in four distinct ways:

• Monetising Byproducts: Transforming what was previously disposal overhead into high-margin, proprietary inventory.
• Supply Chain Insulation: Lowering the ‘total cost of ownership’ of ingredients by reducing reliance on volatile external logistics and imported goods.
• Maximising Resource Yield: Extracting greater commercial value from every dollar spent on raw materials.
• Competitive Differentiation: Developing signature, ‘in-house’ products that cannot be commoditised or replicated by competitors.

When we transform modest ingredients into premium assets, we aren’t just solving an environmental problem; we are implementing a smarter, more profitable way to operate in a resource-constrained market.

 

💬 Audience Insight: The Challenge of Adoption

During the Q&A, an important challenge emerged around adoption, particularly for larger organisations.

Introducing new approaches like fermentation can be difficult due to internal processes, regulatory requirements, and food safety concerns. The novelty of these methods can make QA and compliance teams hesitant.

However, this also presents an opportunity. Kitchens can begin by experimenting on a smaller scale, outside of core operations, to test processes, build confidence, and demonstrate value before wider implementation.

 

🎉 Engaging the Community

The session wrapped up with an interactive Kahoot quiz, testing participants on key concepts around emissions, food systems, and innovation.

Congratulations to Ced, Yvonne and Veena for topping the leaderboard and winning a Hakko Bako t-shirts.

Moments like these added a fun and engaging layer to the session, reinforcing learning while bringing the community together.

 

🌱 A Shift in Perspective

Ultimately, the biggest takeaway was not just about technology, but about mindset.

When kitchens begin to see by-products as part of the process rather than waste, new opportunities emerge, for efficiency, creativity, and value creation.

And in that shift, food systems move closer to becoming part of the climate solution.

💚 What’s Next?

 If this conversation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions resonated with you:
🔗 Connect with HakkoBako to learn how upcycling and on-site solutions can help transform food waste into high-value products

👉 Join the Future Green Membership for practical tools, expert insights, and a community driving real change in food and hospitality

📅 Book a discovery call to explore how we can support your sustainability journey

Because reducing emissions isn’t just about impact. It’s about running smarter, more resilient businesses.

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How sustainable is your menu?

Are you curious about your food’s impact?

 

Our community coming together to make access to nutrition a food business priority.

Food sustainability conversations often focus on carbon emissions, food waste, and supply chains. 

But another important question is emerging in the food system: Do people actually have access to healthy, nutritious food and the knowledge to choose it?

That was the focus of our March Future Green Members Monthly Meetup last week, hosted at FEAST, EAST Hotel — the vibrant restaurant space inside EAST Hong Kong that brings together food, community, and conversation.

Gathering at FEAST created the perfect setting for a discussion about the future of dining. Surrounded by chefs, hospitality professionals, and sustainability leaders, members explored how restaurants and food businesses can help make healthier choices easier to understand and access.

The session began with a big-picture look at what “access to nutrition” really means. According to the FAO definition, access to nutrition is not simply about food being available. It includes availability, affordability, and nutrition knowledge, ensuring that people can obtain and understand healthy food choices.

Even in cities like Hong Kong, where food is abundant, there can still be significant gaps in access to nutritious diets. From cost barriers to limited transparency around food composition, many consumers lack the information needed to make informed decisions about what they eat.

🥗Healthy Diets for People and the Planet

The discussion also explored how healthy and sustainable diets shape the future of food systems.

One framework highlighted was the Planetary Health Diet, developed by a global group of scientists (EAT LANCET). It encourages eating more vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, while reducing red meat and highly processed foods.

These dietary shifts benefit both human health and the environment, especially as the global food system contributes roughly a third of greenhouse gas emissions.

Participants also learned about Future 50 Foods, a list of nutritious ingredients that grow well in changing climates. Foods like lentils, seaweed, chickpeas, teff and quinoa help diversify diets while supporting more resilient agriculture.

Together, these ideas show that improving access to nutrition is not only a public health issue. It is also a key part of building a more sustainable food system.

Conversations, connections, and new ideas on making nutrition more accessible.

🍽️Nutrition Transparency in Restaurants

Our meetup’s guest speaker, Jojo Kwok Ka Po, Co-founder of Body Nova and Dinewell AI, shared insights into how nutrition transparency could reshape dining experiences.

In Hong Kong, nutrition labelling is mandatory for packaged food products, but most restaurant dishes still do not provide this information.

Body Nova is working to bring nutrition labelling to restaurant menus, providing information such as calories and key macronutrients including carbohydrates, protein, fat, and dietary fibre.

Their work reflects a broader shift in consumer expectations.

Health-conscious diners are increasingly looking for restaurants that support their wellbeing, not just their taste preferences.

Through their platform Dinewell AI, diners can explore nutrition information across restaurant menus and filter dishes based on dietary preferences or allergens.

Jojo Kwok Ka Po, Co-founder of Body Nova, sharing insights on bringing nutrition transparency into real-world dining.

🔄 From Commodity to Performance Fuel

One of the most compelling ideas discussed during the session was how restaurants might rethink the way they position food.

Jojo suggested that many restaurants still treat food as a basic commodity — something comparable to fuel.

In other words, restaurants can shift their messaging from simply serving meals to offering food that supports performance, wellbeing, and mental clarity.

For example, a healthy lunch might not just be a salad. It could be positioned as the fuel that helps someone stay focused during an afternoon meeting.

This approach reflects a growing market of health-conscious diners who are willing to spend more on food that supports their lifestyle and wellbeing.

📊 The Role of Data in Changing Food Choices

During the Q&A session, participants explored how nutrition data might influence both diners and chefs.

Jojo shared that early insights from Body Nova’s work already show shifts in consumer behaviour.

Some chefs have also started adjusting recipes after seeing the nutritional breakdown of their dishes. In some cases, this has led to greater use of seasonal ingredients or healthier cooking methods.

Over time, tools like these could encourage a broader shift toward healthier restaurant menus without compromising flavour or creativity.

 

🎉 Kahoot Quiz: Learning Through Play

We wrapped up the session with a fun Kahoot quiz, covering topics like access to nutrition, the Planetary Health Diet, Future 50 Foods, and Jojo’s work on nutrition transparency.

Congratulations to Eddie Pang from EAST Hotel, who won the Nutrition Labelling Trial Service for six dishes, valued at HK$8,280.

 

💚 What’s Next?

If this conversation on Access to Nutrition resonated with you:

• Explore how nutrition labelling and transparency could enhance the dining experience and customer trust
  • Connect with Body Nova to learn how their nutrition labelling and wellness consultancy can support your restaurant or hospitality business

👉 Join the Future Green Membership for practical tools, expert insights, and a community driving real change in food and hospitality
📅 Book a discovery call to explore how we can support your sustainability journey

Because sustainability is not only about the planet. It’s also about people’s health and wellbeing.

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How sustainable is your menu?

Are you curious about your food’s impact?