In our continuing effort to create a sustainable and environmentally conscious experience at AWS re:Invent, we have taken efforts to reduce food waste and menu carbon impacts, as well as create menus that utilize ingredients, products, and practices that benefit the community and the environment.
Focusing on food waste, carbon impacts, and sustainable sources, we have taken efforts to:
- Use food and beverage ingredients from within a 500-mile radius where possible
- Make plant-based proteins, including vegan and vegetarian offerings, available at every meal provided by AWS re:Invent
- Offer plant-based menus at select locations and times
- Prioritize reusable serviceware or alternatively 100% compostable or recyclable serviceware
- Sort and process all event compostable serviceware and food scraps into garden compost
- Select water-conscious ingredients and farming practices where possible
- Use 100% eggs from cage-free hens
- Use Antibiotic- and hormone-free proteins where possible
- Use coffee and tea certified Fairtrade where possible
- Use heart-healthy and no trans-fat oils
- Avoid high-fructose corn syrup where possible
Food recovery. Unserved food from re:Invent 2024 will be donated to local nonprofit organizations in the Las Vegas area such as Three Square Food Bank, Las Vegas Rescue Mission, and The Just One Project.
Did you know?
- The Las Vegas strip uses only 5% of the region's water supply. That's because 100% of the water used in toilets, showers, and HVAC is treated and re-used or cleaned and pumped back into Lake Mead! (UNLV, 2021)
- Shifting to a plant-forward diet could reduce food-related emissions in the US by 61-73%!
(Poore & Nemecek, 2019) For re:Invent 2024, we’ve focused on balance in your menus to reduce the environmental impact while maintaining options to fit a variety of food preferences. - Meat consumption, particularly beef, requires significantly more water than a plant-based option like salad. On average, a 6 oz. steak has a water footprint of 674 gallons vs. a salad at 21 gallons.
(WFN)