The Effectiveness of Information Transfer in Reducing Food Waste: Evidence from an RCT with Small and Micro Enterprises in Cusco’s Hospitality Sector

The intervention consists of four main components: Baseline, Training, Midline, and Endline. The first component involves collecting information about each SME’s outcome (waste segregation, waste generation), managers’ perceptions about food waste generation and management practices, and SME characteristics. This component serves as a baseline and includes all SMEs in the final sample. Each SME will be visited once for waste generation measurement (audit) and to complete a baseline survey. As part of the baseline, our research team will provide a waste container (with a capacity of 50 kilograms, according to Peruvian government regulations about waste management) to each SME free of charge. These waste cans provided to each SME allow us to accurately measure waste segregation and organic waste generation both at baseline and endline.

The second component of the program involves training to improve knowledge about food management. SMEs will be randomly selected through a stratified lottery, with both treated and untreated SMEs being chosen. Only the treated SMEs will be invited to participate in the training sessions.

The third component of our study includes a midline survey to collect information from both the treatment and control groups. In the control group, we will inquire about the use of waste container and organic waste segregation. In the treatment group, we will ask about the use of garbage cans, organic waste segregation, and the implementation of measures to improve food management in the kitchen stage after training. We will conduct the survey through cell phone calls. We will contact the control group SMEs one month after they receive the garbage cans, and the treated group SMEs one month after they complete the training at Instituto Khipu (Gastronomy educationa institution).

The final component, involves collecting information from each SME about the follow- up measures taken after the intervention. This includes the perceptions of managers (owners) regarding the generation of food waste and any improvements in the practices of food waste management. All SMEs in the final sample will participate in this component. Each SME will be visited once for waste generation measurements (audit) and a survey.

The timeline for the intervention is 3 months for the baseline (including pilot), 3 months for training SMEs (including midline), and 2 months for the endline.

The intervention is possible through an institutional agreement between the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC) and Municipalidad Provincial del Cusco (MPC). To implement the intervention with SMEs in the CHC area, we have employed an umbrella program called “Programa: Reducción de desperdicios en la preparación de alimentos en restaurantes de la Ciudad de Cusco” (Program: Waste Reduction in Food Preparation in Cusco City Restaurants in English). This program aims to ease the decision-making process for SMEs considering participating in the intervention by generating trust. This is particularly relevant in business informality and uncertainty, such as Cusco in Peru.

We plan to invite at least 400 SMEs to participate in the program, with 30 SMEs as part of the pilot phase. Of these 400 SMEs, 288 have already agreed to be interviewed in our first data collection, while the remaining 172 firms did not explicitly reject our first data collection. We consider all of these firms as potential participants. We randomly select SMEs from this population to offer the opportunity to participate in our program. We send formal letters that provide information about the program and incentives to encourage participation. The formal letters are delivered to create a reliable intervention framework to encourage participation from SMEs.

As part of the program, we provide additional information about its components and how it will affect SMEs. To invite SMEs to participate in the program, we will follow these steps: (i) We will deliver formal letters to each SME and ask their managers or owners if they are willing to participate. (ii) If we receive an affirmative response, we will ask the SME to sign a formal commitment and informed consent to participate in the program’s components. We will also provide a waste container to each participating SME as an incentive. (iii) We will create a directory of all participating SMEs, including the manager or owner’s name and the chef’s phone numbers.

The final sample only comprises SMEs who have agreed to participate in the program. We had estimated an enrollment rate of at least 65% of the invited SMEs, which would be around 260 out of 400. We believe that the characteristics of SMEs, such as their water installation, monthly water bill, kitchen burners, kitchen and food service workers, and the correlation between the kitchen and service workers and the manager and owner, are potentially correlated to the outcome of organic waste generation. Therefore, the final sample will be stratified into five strata based on the stratification index that was previously constructed using these characteristics.

The program intervention consists of four main components: Baseline, Training, Midline, and Endline. The first component involves collecting information about each SME’s outcomes, managers’ perceptions about food waste generation and management practices, and SME characteristics. This component serves as a baseline and includes all SMEs in the final sample. Each SME will be visited once for waste generation measurement (audit) and to complete a baseline survey. As part of the baseline, our research team will provide a waste container (a colored brown container for organic waste with a capacity of 50 kilograms, according to Peruvian government regulations about waste management) to each SME participant free of charge. These waste containers would allow us to accurately measure waste segregation and organic waste generation at baseline and endline.

The program’s second component involves training to improve knowledge about food management. SMEs will be randomly selected through a stratified lottery, with both treated and untreated SMEs being chosen. Only the treated SMEs will be invited to participate in the training sessions.

The third component of our study includes a midline survey to collect information from the treatment and control groups. We will inquire about using waste container and organic waste segregation in the control group. In the treatment group, we will ask about the use of waste container, organic waste segregation, and the implementation of measures to improve food management in the kitchen stage after training. We will survey cell phone calls. We will contact the control group SMEs one month after they receive the waste container and the treated group SMEs one month after they complete the training at Instituto Khipu.

The final component involves collecting information from each SME about the follow-up measures taken after the intervention. This includes the managers (owners) perceptions regarding the generation of food waste and any improvements in food waste management practices. All SMEs in the final sample will participate in this component. Each SME will be visited once for waste generation measurements (audit) and a survey. The timeline for the intervention is 3 months for the baseline (including the pilot), 3 months for training SMEs (including midline), and 2 months for the endline.

To reduce organic waste generation at the kitchen stage, participating SMEs will be provided with complementary information, along with training sessions to enhance the knowledge of managers and chefs on food management. The training aims to incentivize improvements in food waste management, helping to promote better waste reduction practices. The participants will randomly choose the SMEs invited for the training sessions. In the treatment group, owners and chefs of SMEs receive a free three-hour training session on the operational implementation of food management innovations.

Our training sessions will focus on standardized themes related to food management innovations. We ensure that all the innovations suggested during the training sessions are simple and inexpensive to implement by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The training sessions will cover the following topics in detail: (i) Introduction to the concept of food management in the kitchen, (ii) Purchasing planning, (iii) Food storage, (iv) Production planning, and (v) Optimization of food use. During the training session, we will introduce the importance and benefits of improving food management. Following that, we will discuss purchasing planning and focus on using a perishable inputs and ingredients purchasing table to help prevent the purchase of excess inputs and ingredients. This will ensure that SMEs have real-time control of their food stock. Having more accurate inventory control can minimize storage and spoilage costs and improve our cash flow.

Optimizing storage procedures is the main purpose of storage. This involves storing perishable products in different ways, such as storing fish pieces and frozen separately, beef/pork/chicken pieces stored/frozen separately, minced meats (beef, pork, fish, chicken, etc.) stored/frozen in separate containers. In addition, warehouse organization is important and can be achieved using the ABC method. This involves categorizing products into three groups: A includes widely used products that take up relatively little space; B are products that will be stored much longer, are not used as much, and take up a lot of space; finally, C products, these are between A and B according to movement and frequency of choice. The ABC method can divide the warehouse and fridge into three zones: Zone A will be the one that is always closest to the door, then B, and then C.

Production planning serves the purpose of improving production efficiency by implementing the 20%+100%+20% strategy. This strategy helps to prevent overproduction by maintaining a daily stock of 100% of the required amount for normal demand, with an additional 20% reserved for high-demand periods, resulting in a total stock of 120%. Frozen stock is kept as a contingency plan and used only in cases of emergency during high-demand days. Any unsold fresh stock, which makes up around 20% of the total stock, is carried forward to the next day. The objective is to use fresh stock as much as possible to avoid waste and ensure that valuable prepared ingredients are not discarded.
During the intervention, a team from Instituto Khipu consisting of one executive chef and one kitchen assistant will conduct all 25 training sessions for five weeks. Instituto Khipu is a well-known technical education institution focusing on the hospitality sector in Cusco. It has a gastronomy school with the necessary facilities, human resources, and expertise to support the intervention. We expect to include around 130 SMEs in training, and each training session will have representatives from no more than six SMEs. We will conduct no more than six training sessions per week. After each training session, participants will receive a printed guideline containing all the procedures covered. Managers and chefs of treated SMEs will be randomly grouped in each 25-training group. Still, we will try to group participants according to their availability due to their working and business hours.

To minimize the probability of a potential violation of the Stable Unit Value Assumption (SUTVA), we will follow the below strategy: (i) We will standardize the training sessions, themes, and procedures. (ii) To determine the heterogeneity of SMEs in the final sample and the treatment group, we will use the baseline to collect information about the characteristics of SMEs in both the treatment and control groups. (iii) Each training session will be carried out at the Instituto Khipu to ensure that the training is standardized among treatment SMEs and by the same training team (same executive chef and kitchen assistant).

2023-05-01

2023-12-30

Our primary outcome is determining whether SMEs segregate organic waste at the kitchen stage.

We will conduct audits during the baseline and endline phases to assess whether SMEs use the waste containers provided by the program to segregate organic waste or not.

Our second outcome is measuring organic waste generation at the kitchen stage.

However, it is considered difficult to measure accurately due to the diverse material types of food and inedible parts and the inventory boundaries. Multiple techniques are available to measure organic and food waste, as explained in the Guidance on Food Loss and Waste Quantification Methods at www.flwprotocol.org.

These methods include direct weighing, counting, assessing volume, waste composition analysis, records, diaries, surveys, mass balance, modeling, and proxy data. However, semi-structured interviews are commonly used to gather information about food waste at the SME level.

To avoid self-report bias, we employ physical measures to collect data on organic waste generation at the kitchen stage for both treated and control SMEs.

We use a combination of two methods, namely Direct Weighing and Waste Composition Analysis, to measure the amount of organic waste generated. Direct weighing involves using weighing devices, such as waste cans and electronic scales, to quantify the weight of organic waste generated. Waste composition analysis is used to separate and weigh organic waste from inorganic waste physically.

We conducted a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to determine the causal effect of information transfer to SME managers (owners) and chefs on business outcomes. The RCT involved detailed audits and surveys at the beginning and end of the study, with a midline phone survey conducted during the intervention. Randomization was only done among SMEs that expressed interest in participating in the umbrella program. After baseline, with more precise power calculations, SMEs were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups using a simple lottery in each of the 5 strata. This will be used as a variable block (stratified), meaning the sample will be distributed according to these strata. The effect by strata will not be analyzed due to limited statistical power.

The Randomized Control Trial (RCT) involves two treatment arms: the treatment and control groups. The control group consists of untreated
SMEs, who will participate in baseline, midline, and endline evaluations. We will implement a basic information intervention for the control SMEs to increase awareness of organic waste. During the baseline evaluation, we will visit each SME in person (around n=130) and provide them with a waste container to segregate the organic waste generated.

At baseline and endline evaluations, we will collect information on the physical measures of generating organic waste, measured in kilograms (per worker, per day, and per SME). In the midline, we use cellphone surveys to gather information on whether or not the
garbage can was used for organic waste segregation by the control SMEs. At the end of the program, we gather information on how the waste cans are used to separate organic waste. Once the program is over, all SMEs in the control group will receive printed guidelines to
improve food management and reduce food waste production at the kitchen stage. The control group SMEs participating in the baseline, midline, and endline surveys will receive an official certification from Municipalidad Provincial del Cusco.

In baseline and endline surveys, we will survey managers (owners) to collect information on SMEs’ characteristics, background factors, and pro-environmental attitudes, perceptions, and preferences. Treatment groups consist of randomly selected treated SMEs, each participating in a baseline, midline, and endline survey. To increase awareness, a basic intervention will be implemented in treated SMEs. During the baseline survey, we will visit each SME in person (around n=130) and provide them with a brown garbage can to segregate the organic waste generated. In the baseline and endline surveys, we will collect information on physical measures of the generation of organic waste, all measured in kilograms (per worker, per day, and per SME). In addition to this basic intervention, managers and chefs will receive an invitation to participate in a free three-hour training session at Instituto Khipu. The training session is called "Curso-Taller en Gestión del Área de Alimentos y Bebidas" (Course-Workshop in Food and Beverage Area Management).

After each training session, every participant will be given a printed guideline that includes all the procedures covered during the training. During the midline, we collect information about the use of garbage cans for waste segregation. We also gather information about implementing food waste management innovations related to food manipulation practices, purchasing planning, storage, production planning, and food optimization via cell phone surveys. In both baseline and endline, we survey managers (owners) to gather
information about SMEs’ characteristics, background factors, and pro-environmental attitudes, perceptions, and preferences. Treated SMEs that participate in the baseline, midline, and endline will receive an official certification for participating in the program from Municipalidad Provincial del Cusco. Additionally, managers and owners who complete the training will receive an official certification for participating in the "Curso-Taller en Gestión del Área de Alimentos y Bebidas" from Instituto Khipu.

The process of randomization will be carried out by a computer in the office.

The randomization units are small and micro enterprises of the Hospitality sector of Cusco, Peru.

No

No clustering

Around 260 small and micro enterprises of the Hospitality sector of Cusco, peru.

Around 130 small and micro enterprises in the treatment group. Around 130 small and micro enterprises in the control group.

0.279 SD (15%)

PAP RCT food waste in the hospitality sector