restaurants, as well as the rest of the foodservice sector, can go beyond the easy fixes to make a real difference.
This will require a change in mindset, not least when considering costs. Much has been made of the millions of pounds food businesses throw away with their food waste each year, but there are many other areas where some investment in time and money can produce significant results.
As Dominic Burbridge, an associate director at the Carbon Trust, explained:
“Over the 10-year lifespan of your kitchen equipment, more than 80% of money is spent on energy consumed and less than 20% on the equipment itself. Energy prices continue to go up year after year so investing a bit more upfront in energy efficient equipment is a no-brainer for any business no matter your size.”
Still, 22% of restaurants are not willing to pay even a small increase in costs in order to be greener. As Gram concluded:
“It’s encouraging that more restaurants consider themselves greener than before, but they could be feeling the squeeze on the bottom line, which is in turn affecting their outlook and confidence in being able to continue to strive for more environmentally sustainable actions.
“Having slipped down the rankings to become the sector least keen to be greener, it’s important to make sure complacency doesn’t set in, or that the barriers don’t become too hard to overcome.”
In other words, the journey is far from over.
