Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) on Thursday announced the commissioning of a large-scale biodigester at its Dubai operations, a move the company says could reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2,000 tonnes by diverting food waste from landfill.

The custom-built system, installed at EKFC’s Central Commissary Unit, is among the largest of its kind in commercial use and forms part of the catering arm’s wider efforts to strengthen waste management and sustainability, according to a statement issued by Emirates.

The biodigester, a Power Knot LFC-3000 unit, processes organic waste on-site through aerobic digestion, using oxygen, heat, and microorganisms to break down food waste. The process produces gray water that can be reused for non-potable purposes while avoiding the methane emissions typically generated when food waste decomposes in landfills.

Shahreyar Nawabi, chief executive of Emirates Flight Catering, said the project marked a significant operational milestone. “When we look at where we can make the greatest difference, it’s in how we handle waste by treating it responsibly, diverting it from landfill, and finding ways to put it back into productive use,” he said, adding that collaboration across the organisation and consistent waste segregation were key to the project’s delivery.

Since being commissioned in December 2025, the system has steadily increased throughput and is currently processing up to 3.5 tonnes of food waste per day. EKFC expects capacity to rise to around six tonnes daily as the biodigester reaches full biological maturity.

Using greenhouse gas conversion factors aligned with the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, EKFC estimates that diverting one tonne of food waste from landfills avoids around 0.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. At full capacity, the facility could therefore prevent more than 2,000 tonnes of CO₂e annually.

The biodigester is part of a broader sustainability strategy at EKFC, which includes investments in renewable energy and fleet electrification. The company said solar panels at its facilities generated about 4,000 megawatt-hours of electricity last year, avoiding an estimated 1,600 tonnes of carbon emissions, while electric vehicles are being introduced across operations. A proof-of-concept electric hi-loader, described as the first in the region, is expected by mid-2026.

EKFC also highlighted progress in waste reduction and circularity, noting that it processed nearly 75 tonnes of food waste through a smaller biodigester last year and eliminated around 45 tonnes of plastic annually through packaging changes. Additional measures include the development of recipes using production trimmings and the use of pesticide-free produce grown locally.

The company said it would continue to scale such initiatives as it seeks to embed sustainability into its day-to-day operations.