Feature: Be part of the solution

Changing mindsets and behaviours to preserve the planet’s future

When it comes to balancing people and planet with profit, a top-down initiative is never going to work. For a restaurant to succeed in its sustainability agenda, a shared effort across all levels of the operation is required. As Claire Chalmers, chief revenue officer at Nutritics, observes: “Where we have seen restaurants do well in their sustainability initiatives, the common denominator is a sense of ownership among the staff implementing them on a daily basis.”

Creating a culture

Your employees are the closest to your daily operations, so it’s therefore vital to get them on board. After all, as far as the customer’s concerned, they are the real representation of your business’s brand values. According to Nutritics, almost half (47%) of restaurant leaders think their teams engage well with sustainability practices, while 7% disagree and 45% are neutral. Give these numbers a healthy boost by encouraging staff to provide solutions that bolster sustainability ambitions, all while fostering a workplace that your team will be proud to be part of.

“We know that sustainability has become a key driver of retention,” says Chalmers. “Seventy-six percent of hospitality staff – and 88% of those in management positions – say they’re more likely to stay in a job for longer if their employer makes a positive environmental impact. Supporting employees to be part of this positive impact will drive fulfilment at work and, ultimately, brand loyalty. In this difficult cost environment, pushing sustainability up the team agenda makes sense from every angle – increasing retention and staff happiness, also reducing recruitment costs.”

At Sloane Street seafood restaurant Azzurra, sustainability is very much embedded in the culture through daily operations, ongoing training and clear communication. Small but effective changes – such as ditching blue roll, which immediately ends up as waste once contaminated, moving to paper straws and writing directly onto containers instead of using labels – can be easily actioned and fast form part of your everyday approach.

“Clear processes, structured inductions and regular reinforcement ensure consistency,” says Leonardo Volpe, executive chef at Azzurra. “By recognising and rewarding positive behaviour, the team feels motivated and aligned, with every member understanding their role in achieving the restaurant’s wider sustainability goals.”

Creating an open and collaborative environment is key, says Volpe. Azzurra team members are actively encouraged to share ideas and insights, especially from past roles or industry trends they’ve observed. Staff input is embraced, and suggestions that lead to improvements are not only acknowledged but celebrated. “This reinforces that each person has a valuable role to play in shaping the restaurant’s sustainable journey,” adds Volpe. “By fostering this sense of shared responsibility, staff are naturally more engaged and motivated to contribute fresh, forward-thinking ideas.”

At SW16 Bar & Kitchen, an all-day drinking and dining spot, cocktail lounge and workspace in Streatham Hill, south London, working towards sustainability goals starts with team education and transparency. “We aren’t masters of sustainability yet – we’re very much learning as we go,” notes general manager Tom Small. “To be honest, I often just go on odd little missions whenever a lightbulb has popped up over my head, and I just tend to bring everyone with me.

“I’m very fortunate to have an extremely creative and knowledgeable team around me who will also spend time researching and contributing,” he chimes. “I think education is actually the pinnacle of it all. I’m always sending over interesting videos or techniques other places are using (Fallow has amazing content for this sort of stuff). It isn’t difficult to get people on board with the sustainability motive these days. We all want to help the planet in some way. For us, it’s getting to the point where our team are all just presenting ideas to me and I say, ‘That’s amazing – do it.’ If it works, great. If it doesn’t, we’ll try something else and have some fun with it in the process.”

Kitchen focus

From reducing waste to maximising resources and seeking out ways to minimise fossil fuel usage, the commercial kitchen isn’t short of areas that can be streamlined for the good of the planet.

On the energy side, digital solutions are empowering restaurant operators to set measurable goals and track progress in real-time. As Scott Duncan, managing director at Unox, explains: “When chefs and kitchen teams can see their energy and water consumption per use, understand the impact of leaving an oven door open too long or see how recipe tweaks can improve efficiency, it brings sustainability to life in a very tangible way. It becomes less about abstract targets and more about practical, everyday actions that everyone contributes to.”

Sustainability in hospitality increasingly involves data and smart tech to drive long-term operational efficiency. One area where this is having a real impact is in water filtration and equipment maintenance. “Tools like AI-enabled meters are helping restaurateurs monitor usage patterns, optimise filter performance and reduce unnecessary energy consumption, all of which support both cost control and environmental responsibility,” says Samantha Scoles, sales director at BRITA Professional.

“Our recent research shows that hospitality leaders are increasingly optimistic about the role of AI in transforming operations,” she adds. “In fact, 61% expect AI-driven, predictive maintenance and smart building technologies to help improve efficiency and reduce energy use, and over half (51%) of decision-makers believe smart tech allows staff to focus more on sustainability initiatives.”

Buying British, where possible, is a no-brainer when it comes to minimising carbon impact – this goes for kitchen tools and devices as well as ingredients. But, as Justin Cadbury, chairman and CEO of Synergy Grill Technology, points out, “Too often, this tick-box is left unmarked when it comes to sourcing products. This is especially true when it comes to catering equipment, given that many brands manufacture their products in China, Europe and the Middle East.”

SW16 Bar & Kitchen

Operators must also keep on top of changing legislation around things like recycling to avoid getting caught out. Simpler Recycling, for instance, is a policy that aims to standardise the process across the UK. It requires businesses to separate dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card), food waste and non-recyclable waste. Glass, metal and plastic containers also need to be rinsed.

At the moment, flexible plastic is exempt, though it is due to be included as of 31 March 2027 – a date of which both operators and suppliers should take note.

“At Nestlé, we’re working to be ready for when recycling is possible by ensuring our packaging is designed to comply,” says Julia Jones, head of corporate communications and sustainability at Nestlé Professional. “This means that we are using flexible plastic materials that will be recyclable when facilities and collection methods are more widely established across the UK. This is part of our commitment to having over 95% of packaging designed to be recycled by the end of 2025.”

Food waste is another vital area of focus where commercial kitchens are concerned, with the UN reporting that, globally, the equivalent of one billion meals is lost or wasted every day – and yet one in every nine people worldwide is malnourished. Not only this, but when food decomposes in landfill, it releases methane, which has a 25-times higher potential for global warming than carbon dioxide, thus having a detrimental impact on both people and planet.

But zero-waste restaurants are on the rise; Mexico City’s Silo, for example, has been on the case since it first opened in 2014, when it became the world’s first restaurant to function without a bin. Here, less than 1% of leftover food is composted and no single-use materials are used. Eleven years and one Michelin Green Star later, co-founders and brothers Lucio and Pablo Usobiaga, along with chef Doug McMaster, are showing it’s possible not just to survive, but thrive, while throwing virtually nothing away.

“Whether it’s inventory management, effective food storage or donating surplus food, restaurants should consider ways to keep food out of landfill,” urges Mark Conron, group head of customer communications at Nisbets. “From 31 March, it became a legal requirement for businesses with 10 or more employees to separate their waste. Putting leftover or inedible food in a specific bin means that this can be effectively composted to return rich nutrients to the soil or transformed into renewable energy.”

At SW16, the team makes a conscious effort to make full use of every ingredient; trimmings are used to make stocks, sauces and purées, for instance. Any stock that doesn’t sell is flipped into a special or used in staff meals, keeping waste to an absolute minimum.

“Front-of-house as well, I’m looking at who supplies our menu paper, turning oxidised wine into jams and pickling vinegars and using our bar fruit to make limoncello or vodka,” says Small. “While it’s great knowing you’re doing a bit for sustainability’s sake, these methods are also for cost control. Small hospitality businesses need to be a little more creative these days with all the difficulties we’re facing, so the more we can save, the better for everyone.”

The team at Azzurra takes a similar approach to managing waste, coming up with creative ways to use fish trimmings, for example, by turning them into fish stock or ragù. “This approach not only reduces the carbon footprint and supports local economies, but also encourages a culture of respect for ingredients and a more sustainable, thoughtful way of cooking,” says Volpe.

Meaningful partnerships

You might be pulling out all the stops to promote a sustainable business in-house, but your efforts are ultimately negligible if your suppliers are letting you down. Supply chain, or Scope 3, emissions can represent 70–95% of a hospitality business’s total carbon footprint (Net Zero Now), and with the sector accounting for 15% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, tackling your supply network is arguably the single most impactful action you can take. You want to be sure you’re working with responsible businesses whose morals and ambitions align with your own.

“Our commitment to responsible sourcing ensures that restaurant customers can easily access ethically produced products like Fairtrade tea, coffee, cocoa and sugar,” says Maria Clark, sustainability and reporting manager at Booker. “We also support areas such as MSC-certified tuna and sustainable packaging. Our continued focus on quality, transparency and animal welfare allows catering businesses to offer products aligned with their customers’ values and enhances their sustainability efforts.”

While it’s impressive to be a changemaker, trailblazer or sustainable pioneer, don’t underestimate the value of being part of a movement and having a community to lean on. Outside influences can be a huge source of support and inspiration, and the more the industry works together to achieve the net-zero goal, the more these vital sustainable practices will become commonplace.

As Small explains: “It’s important because it’s incredibly hard to break the status quo and reimagine how we run things, but it’s also critical at this particular time because hospitality is really struggling. Costs are rising everywhere and it’s becoming harder to offer sustainable practices at an accessible price. I don’t just mean for the restaurants, but also the suppliers. These ethical farmers, butchers and fishmongers aren’t in it to make shedloads of cash; they’re in it for their belief in the sustainability mission. Just as they support us, we need to support them.

“But I’m incredibly excited to see what the UK food scene will look like in a few years’ time, after we’ve hopefully weathered a storm or two,” he adds. “I think it’s going to be seriously cool.”

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