From Surplus to Opportunity at Mercure Marseille Canebière

Every action counts. That's why at Mercure Marseille Canebière, we're doing all we can to reduce food waste, from using a meal redistribution app to working with local producers.

Nestled in the vibrant heart of Marseille's historic centre, Mercure Marseille Canebière Vieux-Port captures the essence of the city's maritime spirit and cultural dynamism. Our hotel, located just steps from the iconic Old Port, blends contemporary comfort with our rich Provençal architectural heritage. We’re a gateway to Marseille’s most compelling attractions, positioning our guests at the crossroads of centuries-old maritime traditions and the city's modern, multicultural energy. 

In the spirit of Marseille’s forward-looking ethos, our hotel is working to minimise our ecological impact while offering customers a quality experience. We don't want to simply pay lip service to the concept either – across the hotel, we’re taking concrete steps to limit how much energy and water we consume, as well as manage the waste we produce. In particular, Le Capucin, our brasserie, has a wide range of initiatives to minimise food waste and work with local suppliers. The result? We’ve been Green Key certified since 2022, reflecting our strong and ongoing commitment to environmentally responsible practices.

As a Mercure hotel, we’re deeply rooted in our local community. We want to offer guests an authentic insight into their destination while creating meaningful, positive change at the same time. But food waste is a global problem – experts estimate that up to 1 billion meals are wasted every day around the world, costing the global economy as much as €950 billion every year. The hospitality industry is a huge part of this problem. Many kitchens and restaurants generate significant amounts of organic waste daily, contributing to environmental and social challenges.

Food waste that ends up in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas that accelerates climate change. But we can turn this problem into an opportunity, too. By composting and being on top of inventory management, hotels can transform waste from an environmental liability into a potential resource. Furthermore, in a world where hunger remains a critical issue, hotels can play a meaningful role by redirecting surplus food to local communities, supporting food banks and creating partnerships with organisations that can make use of excess ingredients. Responsible waste management also means that our eco-conscious guests can enjoy their travels with peace of mind. Ultimately, it's not just about being environmentally responsible – it's about proving that with Mercure, hospitality can be a force for good.

At Mercure Marseille Canebière Vieux-Port, one of the key ways we’re tackling food waste is by teaming up with Too Good To Go, an app that matches users with cafés, stores and restaurants in their area that are offering surplus food. Not only does this rescue good food that would otherwise go to waste, it allows users to try high-quality food at a reduced price.

The initiative, which we started two years ago, uses surplus food from our breakfast buffet. We put leftover breads, pastries and other perishable items into parcels, then use the app to get the word out to the local community. Around three or four parcels are distributed daily, typically to university students and lower-income families.

If that doesn’t sound like much, it’s because we’re mindful of not using the app as an easy way out of dealing with surplus food. Our goal? To have as little leftover food as possible to begin with. We’ve recently started measuring how much surplus food we generate from our breakfast buffet, and aim to reduce that as much as we can without compromising the quality of our offering.

We’ve been asked why we only use the Too Good To Go initiative for our breakfast service. The answer’s simple – Chef Noël Baudrand meticulously plans the brasserie’s lunch and dinner menus, sourcing as much as he can locally and on a daily basis, keeping waste to a minimum. You’ll often see him at the historic Marché de Noailles, a Marseilles institution that’s just around the corner from our hotel, where stalls are piled high with fresh produce and fragrant spices from all over the world.

Chef Noël is committed to creating seasonal, local cuisine rich in Mediterranean flavours, and heads down to the market every day to select the best it has to offer. He’s forged close ties with the market’s shopkeepers, allowing him the pick of the produce – from fresh Provençal herbs to seasonal vegetables grown around Marseille. It’s an all-round win, reducing the carbon footprint of every dish served at Le Capucin, respecting the flavours of the terroir and also supporting the local economy.

And that’s just one of our local partnerships. We also collaborate with local beekeepers in Marseille and the Provence region, many of whom are small family businesses that have been producing honey for generations. You’ll find our rich selection of honeys, named after the streets of our vibrant city, at breakfast. Pair it with our artisan coffee from the Henry Blanc Group, another Marseille-based family business that shares our values of sustainability and environmental consciousness.

Over the last few years, the team at Le Capucin has worked hard to meet and exceed the criteria set out by Ecotable, an initiative centred on sustainability in the food industry. Over 15 percent of the products used in our kitchen come from organic farming or sustainable sources, supporting agriculture that respects soils and ecosystems. We’re committed to respecting the seasonality of French-grown fruits and vegetables, guaranteeing tastier dishes while reducing the carbon footprint linked to transporting imported produce. All the eggs we use come from organic farming or are certified free range, guaranteeing better quality and compliance with animal welfare standards. Finally, we’ve teamed up with pioneering company Les Alchimistes to transform our food scraps into high-quality compost that’s used in the local area.

These actions may all be small, but taken together, we know that they can bring about positive change. It’s how communities make an impact: by using every platform and every means to keep moving – slowly but surely – towards a more sustainable future. At Mercure Marseille Canebière Vieux-Port, our team works on this goal every day, welcoming travellers who share our values and who also want to make a difference.