Sustainable Food Route

Sustainability in foodservice, what buttons can you turn?

In this article, you will read about the themes you can influence, the buttons you have to turn, and about the tools that help you realize impact.

February 25, 2022

Sustainability in foodservice, what buttons can you turn?

In our first article on sustainability, we talked about what the cost of doing nothing is to your business. In this article, we want to illustrate how you can start taking pragmatic steps right away, if you’re convinced. Sustainability can be so complex that we can’t see the forest for the trees. It is too quickly seen as a large and encompassing project. We therefore want to talk more about which concrete buttons you can turn to make your Food&Beverage more sustainable, among other things.

 

On what themes do you have influence?

Because sustainability is such a container concept, it is important to know what themes are involved. These are the themes you want to set goals for. For foodservice, we keep the following four themes: Climate, People & Animals, Biodiversity and Circular Production. 

Within each theme there are different ways to exert influence as a foodservice company. In the Sustainable Food Route we will work together to find out which buttons you can push to make an impact in a pragmatic way. Below you will find a list of the buttons for each theme.

 

The buttons by theme

Climate

With the supply of your F&B, you have a huge impact on the climate. It is therefore important to pay attention to the food miles of the products, or to pay attention to shortening the supply chain. In addition, you can choose to reduce impactful proteins and focus more on plant based and unprocessed products. With all these buttons, it’s important to look at where you want to be. You can turn these buttons all the way up, in a manner of speaking, or you can turn them partially or minimally. You can turn on:

  • Foodmiles
  • Shortening the supply chain
  • Protein transition
  • Plant based

 

People & Animals

As an F&B provider, you also have an influence on animal welfare and working conditions. Labels can help you make responsible choices. In addition, it is smart to embrace partners who already have an outlined sustainable agenda in order to accelerate a process. You can turn on:

  • Animal welfare
  • Fair trade
  • Fair pricing

 

Biodiversity

Doing nothing about biodiversity alone leads to an economic loss of 450 billion euros per year worldwide. By choosing products that are organically produced and/or labels that deal positively with biodiversity, you can make a difference.  You can consciously choose to buy or not buy products that have a significant impact on biodiversity. You can turn on:

  • Organic farming
  • Scarce products
  • Land and water use

 

Circular production

35% of the Dutch started to live more consciously circularly during COVID-19. Nevertheless, it has been essential for a longer time to do circular business. It is crucial that you also communicate this to your staff and partners. In addition, you can make an impact in several ways to make your F&B circular. For example, you can adjust your purchasing and production, map out your residual flows and opt for biodegradable packaging. You can turn on:

  • Operations
  • Production
  • Purchasing
  • Waste reduction
  • Waste streams
  • Packaging

 

 

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”   Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

The tools that help you achieve your goals.

Apart from the buttons for each theme that you can turn, there are two tools that generally affect the four themes. Knowing how to use these tools will help you effectively meet and communicate your goals. 

 

Recipe Engineering

If you know what your goals are and which buttons you want to turn, then it is important to record them in your recipes. In addition, you have great influence with the balance of your recipes. For example, you can purchase a guacamole or make it yourself using, say, broccoli instead of avocado. In addition, you can focus on seasonal products and select by origin.

 

Communication

An often heard situation is that companies are already doing a lot in regarding sustainability, but do not know how to communicate this. Because there is no proper assessment of how important it is and especially how the communication can best be done. Or because, for example, it is feared that the communication will go wrong. Good communication is therefore essential. It is important to focus on what can be done. The solution often lies in making an alternative even tastier with taste, appearance and marketing. In addition, transparency plays a major role. Make sure you communicate in such a way that it connects with your target group. In addition, be clear where you stand and where you want to go in the future.

 

What next? 

You now know what buttons to turn, but how do you tackle this in a pragmatic way? For exactly that reason, together with We Design Food, we have developed the Sustainable Food Route. The Sustainable Food Route is a concrete roadmap that can help you to make your F&B more sustainable in a holistic, responsible and pragmatic way. Above all, the Sustainable Food Route offers an opportunity for your company to raise its profile against the competition. So join the Sustainable Food Route today!

We are ready to explain everything and give you more information, curious? Make an appointment by emailing jeanne@conceptional.nl.

 

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