What is restaurant sustainability? Things you need to be aware of.

Of course, the restaurant industry environment has evolved drastically, with diners more aware of where their food comes from than ever before. With growing knowledge comes more obligations for restaurants to be more careful in their sourcing and more responsible in their business operations. Restaurants and sustainability are currently a big issue as the globe focuses more on how to help and improve the earth. Customers have noticed that environmental hazards in restaurants vary from food waste to pollution.

What does sustainability mean for restaurants?

Restaurant sustainability refers to, when food businesses reduce their environmental effect, especially by addressing concerns such as sustainable farming, carbon footprint, supply chain shortening, food waste, packaging, water and energy usage, recycling, and more.

Restaurant sustainability entails not just benefiting the environment, but also providing consumers with the option to contribute to these beneficial initiatives. People nowadays choose where to eat depending on a company’s ideals. It helps their money go further and gives them the impression that they are making a difference.

Contrary to popular belief, restaurant sustainability does not only refer to food waste.

Food enterprises must examine the following factors to become sustainable.

• How is the food made?
• What kind of packaging is used for the food?
• How are the meals distributed?
• How is the meal eaten?

Aside from these considerations, there are numerous more areas in which restaurants may enhance their sustainability:

Increasing resource efficiency – At the moment, resources are being used faster than they are being generated. Water and energy are included.

• Using non-harmful to the environment items.
• Reducing trash generation.
• Increasing recycling rates.
• The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Why choose to be sustainable?

Sustainability is a hot topic these days, and rightly so. When even IT firms and automobile industries are striving hard to become environmentally responsible, why should restaurants be any different? Moreover, restaurant sustainability standards have a significant effect on purchasing decisions, according to Oracle’s Restaurant Scene 2022 worldwide study, 49% of respondents said that restaurants using biodegradable or recyclable food packaging impact their purchase decisions. Furthermore, 42% think it’s excellent to have. Customers are also concerned about delivery. Low or zero-emission takeaway delivery services persuade 42% of customers to buy from a restaurant, while another 46% think it’s a pleasant feature.

Restaurants that make steps to reduce food waste attract 54% of consumers to buy from them, whereas accurate labelling of food sources and contents influences 52% of respondents purchasing behaviour. Finally, healthful menu selections are important to the modern, well-informed client. Healthy food options were significant to 70% of poll respondents.

Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate them, as well as others, into your restaurant.

Things one can keep in mind

Manage food wastage

The best and simplest strategy to decrease food waste is to keep track of expiry dates for perishable foods and consume them first utilizing the FIFO (first-in, first-out) method.

Consider adopting restaurant inventory management software to keep track of products more effectively. When food waste becomes unavoidable and you know you won’t be able to consume all of the components before they spoil, give the excess to local shelters.

If you see that most customers leave a lot of food on their plates, try decreasing your quantities to reduce food waste even further.

Reduce carbon emissions during delivery 

Several factors contribute to a restaurant’s carbon footprint. Nonetheless, food delivery is one of the worst offenders, especially given the current surge in delivery orders as a result of the epidemic. Here are four things you can do right now to lower your food delivery service’s carbon footprint:
*

• Set order priority, analyze traffic bottlenecks, and allocate locations to drivers to optimize the delivery route for your drivers.
• Increase efficiency by having drivers deliver numerous orders at once.
• Consider purchasing electric scooters or automobiles for your drivers.
• Unless expressly asked, limit the supply of disposable utensils.

More vegan options on the menu 

When we think about restaurant sustainability, we usually think of energy or food waste. But how can you enhance sustainability if you don’t consider your menu? Researchers found the following main restaurant sustainability strategies followed by chain restaurants in a report published in the MDPI journal:

1. Providing nutritional information
2. Providing nutritious menu options
3. Using organic or natural ingredients

What is the significance of food sustainability? We are what we consume, after all. Adding healthier food alternatives not only attracts customers with different diets but also reduces your carbon impact.

Use the following methods to make your cuisine healthier:

• Make healthier substitutions for popular menu items (like vegan burgers or vegetarian pizza)
• Purchase your ingredients locally and seasonally
• Label each meal’s ingredients as well as their source, if feasible
• Make your cuisine healthier with fewer processed items
• Sweet potatoes could be used instead of potatoes, and healthier side dishes could be served
• Incorporate beans and nuts into your menu
• Cook using plant oils
• Concentrate on healthy fats

Read to know more about menu engineering

These are some of how one can introduce sustainability into their restaurant business. While opening a restaurant keep these in mind, you can always look at tips and tricks on how to open one. It’s no secret that opening a restaurant is no easy feat, so to open the more sustainable one that would resonate with the audience, ensure you find the best restaurant consultants in Dubai. Auriga hospitality consultants, with our out-of-the-box knowledge and application, help elevate your restaurant and make it profitable.  

Visit our website to be on top of hospitality trends.

Most chefs designed menus 25 years ago based on what they loved to make and what they knew their guests would enjoy eating. Few individuals addressed seasonality or the repercussions of importing products from all over the world.