E226 ‘AI-Driven Solutions to the Global Food Waste Crisis’ with Positive Carbon’s Mark Kirwan

Today's guest is Mark Kirwan, CEO & Founder at Positive Carbon. In recent years, the issue of food waste has become increasingly critical, with about one-third of all food produced ending up in the bin. However, AI Awards 2025 winner Positive Carbon is changing that narrative with a mission to significantly reduce food waste in the hospitality industry by leveraging artificial intelligence and innovative technology.Topics include:

0:00 How Positive Carbon uses AI to help hospitality cut food waste

3:32 His career journey from software engineer to founding Positive Carbon

5:05 How Zero-shot AI identifies food waste instantly with no training needed

6:05 Utilising Plug-and-play hardware to track kitchen food waste in real time

7:14 Using Microsoft Azure and Defender for secure, compliant cloud AI

8:29 Securing funding by directly pitching to investors with validated ideas

9:57 How Enterprise Ireland provided support, introductions and collaborative guidance

10:35 How plug-and-play design ensures high adoption and effective results

11:25 Winning Best Application of AI in Sustainability at the 2025 AI Awards

12:01 Expanding internationally in 2026, aiming for 10,000 units reducing food waste