Eco-Friendly Practices in Restaurants: Importance & Impact
Consumers nowadays are actively choosing to support companies that adopt eco-friendly practices, especially restaurant businesses. This means there is some real financial incentive for businesses that showcase their commitment to sustainability. In fact, according to TheRoundup, 84% of customers say they will alienate a brand or company associated with poor environmental practices.
So, as a restaurant business, you must always pay special attention the environmental-related concerns and promote eco-friendly practices. This blog post covers the popular sustainability trends all restaurants have recently followed. Read on to draw some inspiration!
What are eco-friendly practices in the restaurant industry, and why have they become so important?
Eco-friendly practices in restaurants or restaurant sustainability are all about adopting exercises that reduce the adverse impact on the environment.
By committing to such practices, you promise to preserve natural resources and contribute to a healthier planet.
Today’s consumers are deeply invested in environmental concerns and want to adopt a lifestyle that is responsible and eco-conscious. Due to this, there has been a substantial increase in the demand for eco-friendly products and services, also giving rise to some sustainability trends.
Here are some sustainable trends to keep an eye on as you strive to go green:
1. Less Food Waste
Food waste is a huge problem in our world. No matter how much large-scale restaurants are becoming eco-conscious, there is still enormous food waste happening. For example, the U.S. was recently reported to have produced nearly 11 million tons of food and water annually. And, each ton of this wasted food contributes to 3.8 tons of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
In response, consumers are inclined towards restaurants that are promoting circular systems in restaurants.
These types of restaurants implement strategies to prevent waste right from the start. They do so by optimizing inventory management, supporting efficient portioning, and using the leftovers creatively.
Moreover, these restaurants emphasize making dishes that involve seasonal ingredients to support local farmers.
2. Compostable products
Customers don’t want to order from restaurants that use single-use plastics as they contribute to landfill waste. Following this, the compostable packing market is anticipated to cross $121 billion by 2025. So, considering this scenario, as a restaurant, you must partner up with a restaurant marketing agency that provides compostable packaging.
So, instead of going for single-use plastic, you must invest in packaging that is made from natural materials like sugarcane or cornstarch. Or, you can go for compostable packaging that can decompose into nutrient-rich soil.
Don’t just assume that people will know that you guys are committed to eco-friendly packaging. There are many ways to promote the message that you are using compostable packaging. You can simply show it on the packaging itself, or you can convey it via posters or signage or through social media posts, story reels, etc.
You can also partner with local environmental organizations to promote your sustainable restaurant as this can also add credibility to your efforts.
3. Upcycled Food
It is one of the most innovative and impactful trends in the sustainable food movement. This practice involves using the ingredients that would otherwise be wasted. You just simply have to transform them into new, unique dishes or any kind of nutritious product. Please note that you are not using any spoiled or unsafe food in this practice. Usually, you have to make unique items from byproducts (like spent grain from brewing beer) or surplus.
By employing upscaling, you can combat the food waste problem very effectively, conserve resources, and offer culinary innovation.
Here are some typical examples of upcycled food:
- Snacks made from fruit or vegetable peels, like chips or crackers.
- Baked goods made with spent grain from breweries.
- Drinks made with fruit pulp or coffee grounds
- Sauces made with vegetable trimmings or surplus produce
You can partner with suppliers who produce upcycled foods to bring such culinary creations to your menu. Don’t forget to share the story behind your upcycled dishes and tell your goal to reduce food waste. This can be a great way to connect with your customers who are highly passionate about sustainability.
4. Circular Packaging
Then, there is Circular packaging that goes beyond simply being compostable or recyclable. It’s an approach that aims to reduce waste and keep packaging materials in use for a long. To come up with something like that, you have to first reduce the amount of packaging material used in the first place. Then, design the packaging so it can be used multiple times, either by the customers or the return system.
You can also choose to ensure packaging is made from materials that can easily be recycled, and some systems can collect the waste packaging and process it.
You can open water refill stations or partner with companies that specialize in reusable packaging systems. In this type of system, customers can return the container for cleaning and reuse.
How being an eco-friendly restaurant brand is a huge promotion in itself?
When you are genuinely committing to sustainable practices, people will start to notice you. When more and more customer will become aware they will talk and promote you through word of mouth.
Also, when you commit to being eco-friendly, you are perceived as highly ethical and associated with clean and hygienic practices. This sets you apart and makes you memorable. This can prove to be highly invaluable and happens organically.
Promote that you are ecofriendly
Even though being eco-friendly has some natural promotional benefits in itself, you still need to actively make efforts to promote your brand to reach a wider audience, control the narrative, educate people, and build trust.
You need both substance (eco-friendly actions) and communication (promotion) to truly make a difference and attract customers who value sustainability. In simple terms, being eco-friendly is your foundation, and promoting your practices amplifies your message.
Here are some ways to convey it:
A. Storytelling through visual content
- Use the power of storytelling via visual content. You can use popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to connect with your audience on a personal and engaging level.
- Don’t just simply say that you are sustainable. Use visuals to evoke emotions and make abstract concepts.
- Post the photos or short videos where you are sharing the story of your brand going green.
- Create a series of videos showcasing the whole journey and what you have achieved so far.
Share the before and after photos of your transition. Post infographics to educate your audience. You can also create timelapse videos of how you are handcrafting safe and sustainable packaging. Introduce your staff members to the audience via social media.
B. Interactive Challenges and Contests
Interactive challenges and contests are also a fantastic way to interact with your audience and promote your restaurant’s sustainability initiatives. They do not just add fun elements but also encourage participation and raise awareness about your eco-friendly practices.
You can either use gamification or incentives to motivate the customers to learn about your sustainability efforts. They can further refer these games or incentives to their knowns.
Here is how you have to carry this out:
- Offer discount, free appetizer or entry into a raffle for customers who bring reusable containers for takeout or leftovers.
- Ask your customers to take a selfie at your restaurant and tag you on social media. You can use this user-generated content in your posts or stories, etc.
- You can also share tips and resources to reduce the waste.
C. Collab with influencers
Collaborating with influencers can also amplify your message and help you reach a large audience.
You just have to find like-minded organizations and use their popularity to expand your reach, get credibility for what you do, promote your sustainability initiatives, and create a strong impact. Do not forget the cross-promotion. We mean, while collaborating with the alike ask them to tag you when creating the content for social media. Run the joint campaigns and access their audience to promote messages about your restaurant.
You can partner with other organizations to expose your restaurant to their audience and introduce your brand to potential customers.
You can also partner with local or national environmental groups to promote your sustainability initiatives. To do this, you just simply have to participate in the events and support such programs.
Then, there is another great way which is collaborating with farmer markets to source your ingredients. When you do this, you can simply share the story about it on social media and inspire others to do the same.
Bottomline
Ultimately, building a sustainable restaurant is a long journey rather than a destination. It will take major efforts and even time to embrace all the strategies that we have outlined in this blog post. But remember, by switching to green you are not just getting community engagement but building a legacy. A legacy of environmental responsibility and commitment to a healthier planet for generations to come.
