Sustainability and digital innovation drive core operations at the Crowne Plaza Limassol hotel.

We are proud winners of the fuTOURiSME EU grant for our innovative sustainable tourism project.

fuTOURISME supports SMEs in the sector of experiential tourism to develop new business models, innovative services and skills, utilizing twin transition (digital and sustainable) solutions. Our project – WASD AI – was one of twelve projects in Cyprus to win this important grant. We focus on 3 key areas.

First and foremost, we are developing an app which utilizes Artificial Intelligence to revolutionize food waste management in hotels and restaurants. Our sustainable hotel in Limassol is running the pilot. WASD-AI aims to provide advanced reporting and actionable insights to help the HORECA industry reduce food waste. Furthermore, we are committed to securing the EMAS certification (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme), to validate our commitment to environmental excellence. Finally, we are taking our people and stakeholders on this sustainable journey with us, through training seminars and community outreach.

Did You Know?

According to data from Eurostat, the European Union generates around 59 million tonnes of food waste each year. This is equivalent to approximately 130kg per person annually. Restaurants and food service operations account for roughly 11–12% of this waste. This highlights the important role the hospitality sector can play in reducing food waste. Great opportunities lie in smarter resource management and innovative solutions. Our work as a sustainable hotel in Limassol, aligns with the EU Directive to reduce food waste by 30% by 2030. As such, once we perfected the app, we plan to make WASD-AI available to the wider HORECA sector, across Cyprus and beyond.

How The App Works?

1. Kitchen cameras capture live images of food being thrown away in the kitchen.

2. The AI recognizes the item and estimates its weight.

3. The application gives users real-time data and reports which identify: what you are throwing away, how much you are throwing away, precisely when you are throwing it away, and in which locations within the business.

The rich data provided by WASD-AI, enables hotel chefs and management teams to better understand both colleague and guest behaviour. Consequently,  this enable informed decisions, less wasteful and more profitable kitchens. The AI undergoes rigorous learning process which is customizable to the menu of each kitchen. Every image captured refines the AI’s accuracy while it learns to recognize the diverse and ever-changing food waste of a busy kitchen. Consequently, every time you change the menu, the system learns and adjusts to the realities of food service operations.

With the continued support of the fuTOURISME project and the guidance of CARDET, we looking forward to making the hospitality industry more sustainable with WASD-AI.

Ultimately, as a sustainable hotel in Limassol, we view this project as an important step towards embedding environmentally responsible practices in the hospitality industry. We look forward to seeing WASD-AI promote a more sustainable tourism ecosystem across the region.