The term “sustainability,” is taking the marketing world by storm. For some companies, pursuing sustainability means being more environmentally conscious by reducing energy consumption and waste. For others, it means ensuring that the products used can be refilled on a daily basis and that this ability does not cause a negative impact on the environment and surroundings.
What should the catering business focus on?
There are multiple ways how the business can be sustainable. Let’s have a look at some of them:
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Caring for the environment
Media coverage of environmental protection is growing, and consumers are steadily increasing their commitment to environmentalism. According to research, 70 percent of customers will be more likely to use the services of a quality caterer that proves their concern for the environment and other values important to the public interest. Replacing plastic tableware with the fully degradable ones, recycling, and reusing is the direct way to increase your company’s sustainability.
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Protecting the health of the public
It is not a secret anymore that it’s becoming quite challenging to feed, house, and provide a healthy life to a whole population while preserving the environment and natural resources. In order to overcome these challenges, the sustainable food industry needs to implement a “One Health” concept, that says that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inseparably connected. This approach will lead to better health of not just one individual but the whole public in total.
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Making sustainable food choices
In 2018, the Deutschen Gastro-Gründerpreis, which recognizes top caterers and most innovative culinary concepts, was won by a tiny café in Berlin. Its owners have opted for a closed product cycle: the food left over from the preparation of one dish is used as the basis for a completely different, new dish. This is an excellent example of a sustainable food choice when the menu is driven by the ingredients’ availability rather than social desires.
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Composting
Silo restaurant in London is recognized as the world’s first zero waste restaurant. Not only does the chef not waste food or create unnecessary waste, he also focuses on a unique fine-dining style menu. How does he do it? First, he chooses unpackaged raw materials, so he doesn’t need a trash garbage can. Second, he turns kitchen leftovers into organic compost (about 60 kg in 24 hours). Composting helps him get rid of the leftovers in a way that is beneficial to the plants later on.
Inspiration for the staff
It is true that sustainable restaurants and bars will boom in the near future and will be bringing more profits than regular cafes. But that’s not the only motivation. There are always legislative solutions, regulating ecological issues and conditioning the behavior of restaurateurs if they are too slow to come to terms with environmental issues. So being sustainable also means being a good citizen and an example that people want to follow.
