5 Tips to Make Your Restaurant More Sustainable

These days, customers look at so much more than the type of food on offer when they’re choosing a restaurant. Due to environmental issues such as global warming and the plastic crisis, people often look at the sustainability of businesses before deciding whether or not to eat there.

So, if you want your restaurant to be a success, you’re going to want to focus on becoming more sustainable. The question is, how can you do that? Below, you’ll discover 5 tips to make your restaurant more sustainable.

Ensure you’re using the best equipment

To start with, you’ll want to look at the equipment you’re using. Is it high-quality equipment? If not, you’ll find it wears out quicker, meaning you’ll have to replace it and potentially keep sending your old equipment to landfill. This definitely isn’t great for the environment!

So, although it may be tempting to save money where you can, your equipment is one thing you’ll want to pay more for. Ensure you’re buying from top-quality suppliers such as Nisbets, and replace any old appliances to ensure maximum energy efficiency.

Look at the food you’re serving

It’s possible to improve your sustainability by looking into the food you’re serving up. For example, switching to local food suppliers is one of the best ways to enhance sustainability in a restaurant.

Not only does switching to local food reduce emissions through shipping, but it’s also more affordable, the food tastes nicer, and you’ll be supporting local businesses.

Be clever about your food waste

According to statistics, around 200,000 tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year. In the hospitality sector alone, food makes up 40% of waste which is ultimately sent to landfill. Food waste actually causes harmful gasses to develop, releasing them into the environment. So, you’ll definitely want to focus on lowering your food waste.

You could donate food waste, as long as it’s still edible, to local homeless charities. This wouldn’t just help reduce the amount of waste heading to the landfill, it would also help the local community too.

Track your energy consumption

Energy consumption can be bad for both the environment and your wallet. If you’re looking to become eco-friendlier, as well as save money, you’ll want to keep an eye on how much energy your restaurant is using. Do whatever you can to lower your usage, such as replacing old appliances as suggested earlier.

Minimise the plastics you use

Finally, if you want to run a more sustainable restaurant, you’ll want to look at minimising the plastics you use. According to Zero Waste Living blogger Antonia, plastic waste has become a serious issue, particularly for our oceans. So, consumers are actively looking for companies that are working towards reducing the amount of plastic packaging they use. Stay away from single-use plastics and look for alternative options.

These are just 5 ways your restaurant can become more sustainable. Following these tips won’t just help you to attract new customers, it will also help the environment, as well as save you money.