My guest today is Benjamin Lephilibert. Ben is the Managing Director of LightBlue Environmental Consulting and an expert in hotel food waste prevention, employees/guests participation, and certification. 

Ben describes himself as a ‘self-made food waste solution designer’. He started his career in sustainability ten years ago with Accor Hotel Group, where he was in charge of the implementation of their ‘Green Globe’ environmental certification program at their hotels in 9 countries across Asia.

He then spent time at the UN International Labour Organisation (UNILO) as a Master Trainer and Strategy Consultant in Hotel Sustainability Efficiency for before starting LightBlue Environmental Consulting in Bangkok in 2012.

Ben is an international speaker, lecturer and judge for awards on sustainability, and a certified trainer for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. With a consortium of academics and experts, he co-developed The PLEDGE on Food Waste, the most comprehensive standard endorsed by UNDP and subsidized by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

I spoke to Ben online from his office in Bangkok. We talk about why he picked such a difficult issue as food waste to make his own battle, the challenge of being a lone voice advocating a misunderstood problem, overcoming professional inertia of his target audience of chefs and hotel managers, the doors that gradually open as you become established over time, and the frustrations of seeing what needs to be done and feeling spread thin.

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