Josh Allen, founder and owner of St. Louis-based Companion Baking, has been named the 2021 “Sustainability Hero” at the Tiptree World Bread Awards, America’s awards celebrating the bread community. Allen was also named a Midwest runner-up in the Bread Heroes competition. 

Supported by the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), the World Bread Awards were founded in 2017 by Caroline Kenyon. For the first time this year, the awards not only celebrated 13 regional Bread Heroes, but also an additional selection of special awards. These included the Brook Food Dream Team Award, KitchenAid Home Baker Hero, Shipton Mill Real Bread Hero, Tiptree Outstanding Achievement Award, Wright’s Flour Award for Innovation, and Zeelandia Award for Sustainability. 

Josh Allen received the Sustainability Hero award for his efforts to reduce annual trash produced by Companion by over one million pounds, through a series of micro-innovations. By measuring and managing their trash, they have changed the thoughts and actions of their bakers. Today, waste reduction plays a role in each and every decision at Companion, including sales, the production process, automation, and packaging. More information on the Sustainability Hero award and the specific actions Companion has taken to reduce waste can be found here.

More information on the judging panel can be found here, and the full list of winners can be found here.