Abdul Muqueet Mohammed, associate at Compass Group Canada, analyzes food waste with Waste Not 2.0 to inform menu planning.SUPPLIED
Growing up in rural Nova Scotia, farm-to-table wasn’t a trendy concept for Shaun Goswell — it was how the family ate. Today, the corporate executive chef helps Compass Group Canada apply the same principles — plus a dash of data — to reduce food waste and operate sustainably.
“I’ve always thought that, as chefs, we’re stewards of the land,” says Goswell. “We’re building menus, talking to farmers and working with procurement teams. That’s what’s great about our culinary group in general — everybody has the same kind of focus.”
Sustainability is an intentional endeavour at Mississauga, Ont.- based Compass Group Canada, which provides food service and support services to over 10,000 locations nationwide.
“When you’re a company of this size, you have a responsibility to be an active participant in what’s going on in the world and how you’re making an impact,” says Lauren Davey, chief people and transformation officer.
Compass implements sustainability initiatives at scale using a range of strategies, including locally-sourced ingredients, data-driven in-house waste reduction programs, education and a heaping spoonful of creativity.
“We start from the beginning of the plate,” Goswell explains. From recipe design to packaging, each product’s impact is considered at every step.
Reach for a bite or a drink at a location served by Compass, and you’ll likely find a local Canadian treat, like sparkling maple water or bison jerky from British Columbia.
During menu design, recipes are connected to the procurement team, which sources ingredients from across Canada and liaises with local communities.
The team finds creative ways to use the whole food, as when corporate executive chef and global food waste ambassador Kory Dipucchio found dehydrated papaya seeds were a great substitution for pepper. Dipucchio has made muffins with vegetable trimmings and a signature “love spice” savoury seasoning from dehydrated vegetable bits.
“It’s about taking things that would normally go in the trash and repurposing them,” says Goswell.
The recipes are entered into Compass’s database for culinary teams across the country. Some are also featured in a recipe book for Stop Food Waste Day, the global day of action founded by Compass and embraced by participants and communities around the world.
To track and reduce overall waste, Compass kitchens have taken a data-driven approach using a proprietary culinary system called Waste Not 2.0, where waste is logged and analyzed to inform menu planning.
The data serves a loftier long-term purpose: Compass has committed to reducing food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. Since it implemented the program in 2023, waste is already down 35 per cent.
Compass isn’t racing to the finish line alone, however.
Clients have become partners in sustainability, Davey explains. So much so that a dedicated team supports clients through studies and insights backed by food waste data.
At the other end of a meal’s life, a reusable packaging partnership with Canadian company Friendlier has kept 1.8 million containers out of landfills. Eighty Compass operations are on board and growing, including a Nova Scotia school lunch program.
“It’s an amazing Canadian success story,” says Davey.
Reducing waste at Compass also extends to community giving. In 2025, Compass donated over 250,000 meals to Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization that rescues surplus food across the supply chain to redirect to those in need.
“Food is about connecting and community and being together,” says Davey, who feels that message became particularly salient post-pandemic.
“There’s more meaning behind food now,” she says. “It’s even more important that we’re doing our part to make sure we’re diverting food from waste or giving people meals that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.
Video: Compass Group