GLEAM Network’s Sustainability Series — Interview with Kimberly Smith
In honor of Sustainability Month, GLEAM Network is spotlighting industry leaders that are leading the way when it comes to sustainability in the restaurant and foodservice industry. Today we had the privilege of chatting with Kimberly Smith, Chief Growth Officer for Copia.
Kimberly Smith, Copia’s Chief Growth Officer, came to Copia in 2019 from the advertising tech industry. Having 15+ years of experience in data and analytics, Kimberly brings a unique perspective to the food industry. A businesswoman at heart, Kimberly believes that leveraging technology and fast iteration is necessary for solving the compounding issues of food insecurity and climate change.
Outside of Copia, Kimberly serves on the Board of Directors for Sunsar Maya, a Nepal-based educational non-profit program supporting orphaned children and women’s literacy programs. She has become a part-time zoom school aficionado for her children, Elle and Benjamin, and like any parent with a whole two minutes of free time, loves to be outside!
Kimberly, thank you so much for chatting with us! Can you share information on Copia and your company’s mission?
Thank you for the opportunity, Rosemary, and to the entire GLEAM community, for allowing me to highlight the very rewarding work we’re doing over at Copia — especially on this very important Earth Day celebration!
Copia’s mission to eliminate hunger remains at the forefront of why we exist and it has never been more urgent. Food waste happens and, while it can be reduced and prevented, hunger can be eliminated. This is because we waste 4x more food than there are mouths to feed. We believe that hunger is not a scarcity issue, rather an ineffective redistribution of surplus food.
Copia makes it easy for food businesses to do the right thing for their bottom line, their community, and our environment. We have built the underpinning technology to measure, manage and reduce potential food waste while guaranteeing any and all edible excess food gets to nearby non-profits most in need — completely turnkey. No matter when or how much, all food makes a difference.
Our partners appreciate the operational consistency and efficiency Copia brings to their food donation program while also eliminating the burden on non-profits. And with great importance, working with Copia should prove to actually be a profitable program for your company.
Working with Copia, our partners can:
- Understand and measure the tangible social and environmental impact your restaurants make across your entire portfolio via Impact Dashboards; highlighting the number of meals fed, the non-profits supported, carbon emissions offset and gallons of water saved, all from your donations.
(a) We provide real-time reporting that shows individual or aggregate store contributions in a centralized dashboard
(b) Additionally, we share testimonials from the communities that benefit from your delicious food
2. Have access to both Waste Tracking & Donation dashboards; data that will inform decisions on future purchasing and production.
3. Tax donation receipts stored & Tax Deduction Dashboard allows for clean accounting at end of the year based on Cost Basis & FMV inputs.
Your food is too good to waste, no matter how much or when you have it. Copia will match your donation with the local non-profit most in need of your food, deliver directly to their location and provide you all of the data and information around your contribution. Copia does this in real-time and is your turn-key solution for food waste and recovery.
It has been an incredible experience solving real-world systematic problems with technology and logistics, and we love working with all-size foodservice businesses!
What are some of the biggest issues the restaurant and foodservice industry are facing when it comes to sustainability?
Sustainability requires buy-in at all levels and it really has to be embraced, measured, and celebrated by the organization as a whole. “Buy-in” from the top creates accountability and the necessary adoption for process change and follow-through. Additionally, we’ve all heard the adage that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Data is imperative to not only measure but also celebrate the impact, whether it be financially, environmentally, or socially, with employees, shareholders, customers, and their community.
Understanding that there are unfortunately too many issues facing the restaurant and foodservice industry when it comes to sustainability, especially during this pandemic with ever-changing guidelines, legislation, demand fluctuations, etc., investing in the short term will save money in the long term. It is really going to take businesses, regardless of their motivation and a never-ending list of responsibilities, to prioritize doing the right thing. We are proud to relieve part of that burden for our businesses.
What are a few easy tips and tricks restaurants can do to become more sustainable?
I can’t stress this enough, restaurants need to start tracking data points, especially around food production and waste. They should be looking at points like; what are the most common things being ordered, what do they usually have an edible surplus of and why, what’s the reason behind any inedible excess (like expiration, contamination, etc), etc….. By tracking this information, restaurants will be empowered to make better purchasing decisions to prepare for their customers’ wants and ultimately reduce the waste they produce.
Even with tight data tracking, restaurants will continue to have a bit of a surplus. In order to be prepared, they can implement a food recovery program. By having a food donation service to utilize, restaurants will divert food from landfills (which offsets carbon emission), saves water, and feeds their local community. It’s important to the modern-day consumer to see that the businesses they’re choosing to support are giving back to their neighbors where they can.
Another way that restaurants can hold themselves to the highest sustainability standard, is by electing an employee to be the sustainability steward. This person would keep an eye on the data at hand, for example; making sure water and restaurant resources aren’t being wasted, getting creative with menu planning by utilizing ends and stems to make veggie stock for future meals, and making sure that food waste that can’t be donated is properly composted.
Why is food waste so important, besides the obvious?
Food waste is incredibly important because it is affecting our entire world. What most people forget when it comes to food waste, is that it’s not just about what’s ending up in our landfill, but the entire process that precedes the food actually ending up in your fridge or on your customer’s plate.
Growing and making food, is an incredibly laborious business that utilizes a lot of resources. By wasting food we are wasting water, and energy and also creating unnecessary carbon emissions (through transportation) and greenhouse gasses (created in landfills). According to the WWO, food waste in the US alone creates the equivalent of 37 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a problem that we can all work together to change. If we zoom out even further, we see the way that demand for food impacts our ecosystem as a whole from farmers, supply chain, procurement, production, climate change, and more.
Solving the world’s dumbest problem starts with addressing food waste. While local and federal legislation helps ignite change, it’s going to take the everyday person, small business, and big corporations stepping up to realize their individual roles in this very real problem.
What corporations/brands have you seen making the biggest impact?
First off, I’m in awe of the commitment Intuit is making to sustainability initiatives even beyond ones that directly impact their own business. Their goal to reduce carbon emissions 50x by 2030 is real corporate responsibility in action.
Drawbridge Labs, a Project Drawdown program is a coalition of private-sector organizations. Copia is a proud originating participant. The organization brings together some of the most innovative and forward-thinking leaders of sustainable business practices. I have great respect for the work Jaime Alexander, Drawdown Labs Director, and her team have done bringing together, connecting, and advancing this diverse group of leaders. I’d highly recommend checking out the organization and seeing how you can get involved.
Of course, ReFed is an incredible non-profit organization working to end food loss and waste across the US food system by collecting, aggregating, and sharing valuable data. If you’re interested in learning more about food waste in the United States they have a treasure trove of information and best practices.
Last, but certainly not least, Bloomberg, a Sodexo client, and a client of Copia is the gold standard for food donation programs. Their commitment to providing nutritious meals, not only to their employees and guests at their corporate dining facilities but to their local communities via their donation program is incredible. Their sense of pride in preparing their donated food allows their Copia-matched non-profits to deliver food with dignity to each of their respective recipients. The response from the receiving non-profits has been overwhelmingly positive and appreciative, and the employee engagement has been really meaningful.
At GLEAM, our mission is to provide mentorship and leadership development to underrepresented professionals in the restaurant and foodservice industry. Can you share with us a mentor who has made an impact on your professional career?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been surrounded by so many insightful and caring people throughout my career, even peers, presenting themselves as mentors, in different scenarios and stages in my life. When I think of the most impactful mentor in my life it may initially be surprising because he has spent the majority of his career serving our country in the Department of Justice, so neither private sector like myself or in any of the industries I have worked. Throughout my career, my father, Mark Trouville, has been steadfast with two guiding principles — be fair and be consistent. Regardless of the situation I always look to and appreciate his perspective, because as he told me as a young child…he’s always right.
Thank you, Kimberly. This has been very insightful. How can our readers follow you on social media? It has been a pleasure! You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
How can our readers learn more about Copia?
We’d love to help GLEAM readers track data, and allow your foodservice business to make more informed purchasing decisions, reduce the amount of waste produced, and give back to your community. In turn, this will not only create a more efficiently run business but also will build value in hopes to keep customers coming back. Feel free to reach out to me directly at Kimberly@gocopia.com or our partnerships team at partnerships@gocopia.com.
It has been a pleasure speaking with you today and sharing our story. HAPPY EARTH DAY!
GLEAM Network is a non-profit, volunteer-based network whose purpose is to provide access to mentorship and leadership development to underserved professionals in the restaurant and foodservice industry. To learn more about our organization or to sign up to be a mentor or mentee visit www.gleamnetwork.net
