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Marriott decreased landfill waste per occupied room in its Americas region by 4.9% from 2011 to 2012, the company announced in its 2013 sustainability report update

Waste from snack food production, such as potato peels, corn kernels and other ingredients, is used to generate 35% of the electricity needed to power two PepsiCo plants in Turkey, thanks to an investment the company made in anaerobic digestion technology at the plants two years ago as part of its zero-waste commitment. The nutrient-rich digestate is also used as a fertilizer that the company supplies to 350 contract farmers

Marks & Spencer, Nestlé UK and Ireland, and Unilever were among a group of more than 25 stakeholders in the food and beverage industry to sign on to resource efficiency charity WRAP's Courtauld Commitment 2025. The Commitment aims to reduce food and drink waste by 20%, cut the GHG intensity of food and drink consumed in the UK by 20%, and reduce the impact of water use in the supply chain.

Supermarkets in France have been banned from throwing away or spoiling unsold food by law. The stores are now required to donate unwanted food to charities and food banks.

A company created by Stanford University is developing a self-sustaining community in the Netherlands. The 25-home neighborhood will produce its own energy from biogas, solar and geothermal sources and will grow its own food. ReGen Villages describes its focus as "[d]esirable, off-grid-capable neighborhoods comprised of power positive homes, renewable energy, water management, and waste-to-resource systems that are based upon on-going resiliency research -- for thriving families and reduced burdens on local and national governments."

The Harvester system doesn't just help grocers collect scraps and compostables, it helps them understand where waste occurs.

General Motors began composting food scraps at its global headquarters, working with a local company to transform the waste into gardening soil. The company expects to collect 51,000 tons of food scraps by the end of 2014.

A coalition of more than 20 public interest groups, sent a letter pressuring Kraft Foods to reduce its packaging waste. The group, calling themselves the Make It, Take It campaign, has asked Kraft to develop plans to design packaging from safe, sustainable materials using recycled content, while minimizing unnecessary packaging.

Massachusetts recently enacted the most aggressive mandatory composting program in history, to affect supermarkets, colleges, nursing homes, and prisons.

A zero-waste food retailer is readying to open up in Brooklyn, N.Y., that will allow shoppers to fill their own reusable containers and offer milk in glass bottles that shoppers can reuse on future trips. The concept of retailers like the Fillery are popular in Europe, but they have yet to catch on in the US market.

Marriott International launched Serve 360, a sustainability and social impact platform designed to "guide the company's commitment and deliver positive results" across four priority areas: communities, responsible operations, workplace readiness and access to opportunity, and human rights. As part of Serve 360, the company announced new 2025 sustainability and social impact commitments including targets to reduce water use by 15%, carbon by 30%, waste by 45%, food waste by 50%, and more.

Del Monte Foods is using detailed metrics to measure the effectiveness of everything from energy to water to waste.

Based on entries from 2014 alone, Hormel Foods documented the following annual savings from the 52 Environmental Sustainability Best of the Best projects: 82 million gallons in water use; 8,100 MMBtu of natural gas; 2,700,000 kWh of electricity; 1,500 tons of solid waste; and 2,570 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

As businesses look to keep up with rising global food demand, these concepts stand to change the way we eat.

Here's an inside look at the food giant's sustainability menu, including engaging employees, reducing food waste and sharpening the supply chain.

State and local leaders announced Monday a bill that would ban polystyrene food containers, such as styrofoam cups, in California by 2020. State Sen. Ben Allen, whose district includes UCLA, introduced Senate Bill 705, or the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act, at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. Allen said he wanted to introduce this bill at UCLA to highlight the fact that a major institution like UCLA could make the change with positive results. UCLA eliminated polystyrene containers from its campus dining facilities in 2009 as part of a plan to have zero waste to landfill by 2020.

Some 252 food producers and restaurants have committed to reduce food waste. Along with green giants such asUnilever, they include 7-Eleven Stores and the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Even if you try to avoid buying plastics, you might be surprised to find it lurks in many common food and beverage containers, including tin cans, disposable coffee cups and even tea bags. On Wednesday, however, the environmental group A Plastic Planet debuted the world's first "Plastic Free Trust Mark" to help shoppers know that their products are packaged entirely without the non-biodegradable material, which harms marine life and has entered the larger food chain.

On Thursday, Sunny Delight Beverages Co. (SDBC) released its fifth annual Sustainability Report, detailing its sustainability goals and progress - including an $85 million investment in new production equipment to improve efficiency, reducing the calorie count for its beverages 50 percent, and sustaining zero waste to landfill for the fifth consecutive year