As the world becomes increasingly environmentally conscious, organisations are getting creative, implementing impressive plans to help them achieve a net-zero carbon footprint. While such projects are inspirational, it can be overwhelming for smaller businesses to keep up or know where to start. Embracing sustainable practices doesn’t have to mean overhauling operations or incurring significant costs. In fact, there are numerous small, easy, and low-cost ways to make your business more environmentally friendly while potentially saving money and attracting eco-conscious customers.
Reducing food waste
Food waste continues to be a pressing issue in the hospitality industry. National Food Waste Week this March aims to shine a light on the problem, offering the perfect opportunity for businesses to assess and improve their practices.
To reduce waste across your business, start by reviewing your menus to assess possibilities for using ingredients across multiple dishes. This could include amplifying fresh seasonal ingredients or batch cooking and freezing a standard tomato sauce in a school kitchen to produce curries, pasta dishes and vegetable bakes for the week.
If changing your menu is too time consuming, consider offering different portion sizes to cater for varying appetites or implementing a composting system for unavoidable food scraps which can be used on your kitchen garden, or donated to local community projects. Alternatively, you can link up with local shelters and food banks to donate surplus food to prevent waste going to landfill sites.
Energy efficiency
Reducing energy consumption is both eco-friendly and cost-effective. Simple adjustments such as replacing incandescent bulbs with LED alternatives which use up to 75% less energy, regularly servicing appliances to ensure they operate efficiently, and encouraging staff to turn off lights and equipment when not in use can lead to significant savings.
Every drop of water counts
Water is a precious resource and conserving it can be achieved by checking and fixing dripping taps or leaks, installing low-flow faucets and dual-flush toilets to reduce
water usage, or scraping dishes properly before washing.
Recycling and waste management
Implementing a robust recycling program can divert significant volumes of waste from landfill, so make sure you place well-marked recycling bins in both customer areas and behind the scenes to encourage proper sorting, and select suppliers who use minimal or recyclable packaging to reduce waste from deliveries.
To reduce plastic waste, consider alternatives such as reusable or sustainable packaging and incentivise customers to bring their own containers.
An eco-friendly business thrives when everyone is on board. The most successful sustainable businesses have education at the heart of their activities, so invest a little time to educate employees and customers about the practices you want to introduce, inviting them to support your initiative and the importance of their role in achieving the end goal.