Restaurant sustainability is improving, but is it improving fast enough?
Restaurants are aiming to be more sustainable and use more climate-friendly produce. This is what sets other restaurants apart from each other; the ones that aim to have eco-friendly policies and the ones that have no aspiration to combat the climate crisis. It can be as simple as changing the producer of your milk or changing the main producer of your meat. There are many ways on which a restaurant can be sustainable.
Why should a restaurant aim to be sustainable?
More and more young people are changing their eating habits and lifestyle to combat the climate crisis. Restaurants must adapt their ways to accommodate the change in eating habits; for example, making vegan and vegetarian recipes that are still nutritious and healthy.
A restaurant must keep up with an ever-changing society by accommodating to the needs of their consumers. With the world struggling in the heat of the climate crisis, it has become more important than ever for all business, including restaurants, to change their ways.
An example of a sustainable country:
France is known for its sustainability, and the country regularly tops the list for of most sustainable food systems. Even large cities like Paris have locally sourced ingredients for their numerous elite restaurants. Many businesses are replicating the success of Septime in France, who have gone above and beyond to be sustainable. The menu is 80% plant-based and 99% is sourced from France.
Supermarkets in the country are banned from throwing away unsold food, and restaurants must provide take-away bags for leftovers when asked. Some restaurants have the amount of CO2 that is made from each product displayed on the menu to show customers what they are eating and how much carbon that product has polluted.
How can restaurants attract the younger generation?
More young people are aspiring to work in an eco-friendly business that supports the idea of sustainability. The younger generation want to be assured that they are working somewhere that respects the needs of the planet. The restaurant industry needs to be versatile and aware, so that the younger generation want to explore a career in hospitality.
The environmental policies that you stick to must highlight: What the restaurant is going to do to protect the environment, and: How the restaurant is adapting for the needs of the younger generation and the upcoming consumer base. For example, ages between 18 and 24. Restaurants must not shy away from the problems that the industry causes but they should instead aim to be better and more resourceful with what they have.
ESG strategies for restaurants:
Strategies that incorporate environmental, social and cooperate governance aspects have been expanding across the restaurant industry and is used to measure how sustainable a company is. This gives industries a clear idea of where they are at in term of progressing to be more climate friendly. At the same time as delivering delicious food, the restaurant can also perform to a high standard and stand out to their competitors.
The social responsibility of a restaurant could be respecting diversity, reducing the carbon footprint, adhering to sustainable practices, or promoting healthy eating. These responsibilities give the restaurant a guide of what they need to do to compete with those around them. As previously mentioned, the younger generation are more conscious about how their actions affect the planet and so by upholding those responsibilities, the restaurant will be successful in the industry.
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