The faster the world changes, the faster restaurant owners should develop some ideas to capture the pace. The best decision for your restaurant to keep pace and make it more efficient is to understand the fundamentals of sustainability and its strategies. The world is getting older, and our sources are one and only.
Let’s check the first step: Understanding what sustainability is. The definition is pretty simple. It is all about being able to exist and develop without depleting natural sources for the future.
Realize the sources are finite, and we should be more careful about how to use them. As a restaurant owner, you are one of the key members of modern society. While running your restaurant, you should always remember your duty to be responsible and respectful of environmental protection.
This leads to the second step: Understanding the importance of sustainable practices you should adopt. Living in a society where the cancel culture decides what is in or out can sometimes be stressful for restaurant owners. Adopting sustainable practices for your business will be helpful for the restaurant’s good reputation, which easily improves the profit and makes you reach more customers.
In short, your restaurant will be the first choice among hungry people, and you know that it is because of the efficient, sustainable practices you’ve adopted.
If you wonder how to achieve sustainability in your restaurant, there are some steps to take.
Energy Efficiency Tips for Restaurants
Running a restaurant requires energy, both physically and literally. However, overconsumption of energy is the first thing a restaurant should avoid to achieve sustainability. To track energy consumption, you will be best friends with Energy Management Systems, which allows the detection of energy waste around the restaurant.
Back in the kitchen, where all the magic happens, using energy-efficient equipment is the other key step to achieving sustainability. Commercial equipment should be your go-to move instead of using regular restaurant equipment, which takes an enormous amount of energy. Upgrading your kitchen equipment to high-efficiency ones will save money on utilities and reduce your overconsumption of energy.
Another point you should consider is always to keep the equipment clean. Always schedule a regular cleaning system to make them maintain healthily.
But also there are some simple tips you can do yourself.
-Keep your refrigerator condenser coils free from dust. It tends to clog with dust over time, preventing coils from expelling the heat. As a result, the refrigerator will work harder than it should to keep food safe.
Lowering lightning electricity cost and achieving energy efficiency is also a simple task. All you have to do is to switch from an incandescent bulb to energy-efficient lighting. You can choose LED bulbs or CFL bulbs to light up large areas of the restaurant.
Always remind the staff or put up signs about turning lights off when it is not necessary, especially in the storage closet or back office. Or, you can consider having motion-sensor-activated lights.
Water Conservation Tips for Restaurants
With upcoming climate change, water is even more important than ever. Make the restaurant more sustainable by avoiding using unnecessary water. The less water you use, the less money you will pay for the water bill.
Use low-flow spray valves or install a low-flow aerator, which can limit the amount of water one can use. An eco-friendly dishwasher also will be a good choice.
As has been told before, always be aware of the leakage around the restaurant. Even though it can be seen as insignificant, a single drop of water may turn into a pond. Always repair leaky pipes.
For the guest bathrooms, you can choose low-flush toilets.
Waste Reduction Guide for Restaurants
Have you ever wondered how much food is wasted in a year? According to a survey in the UK, 9.5 million tons of food were wasted in 2021. Among them, the most wasted food types are fresh vegetables and salads. Thinking about how such an enormous amount of food is wasted is shocking. As a restaurant owner, by adopting sustainable practices in your business, you can help to reduce food waste.
You can start with the waste journal. It is a basic notebook to keep track of incoming ingredients or the amount of food that will probably be wasted. You can also encourage the staff to do the same regarding significant points such as deliveries or rotten produces.
Adopting sustainable practices is always trying to use something else. A simple compost bin outside of the restaurant will be helpful. Basically, composting is a controlled process that converts organic materials into nutrient-rich soil. Encourage the staff and customers to throw the right food into the compost bin.
Your restaurant may be part of the solution for food waste and helping other people out by donating unused food. Not only giving them unused food items but also offering a discounted price for the food item which will go bad soon is another method.
Using packaging which can be returnable or reusable is one of the great ways among sustainable practices. Instead of a styrofoam takeout package, you can consider the following:
Aluminium
Paper
Plastic containers
Make sure the staff knows about the recycling program and knows how to do it properly. It is easy to recycle if the recycle bin is easy to access, so place it in the right areas.
Get the Best Insights Into Your Restaurant with FineDine
Want to achieve sustainability for your restaurant but don’t know how and where to begin? It is easy when you’re with FineDine.
FineDine offers the convenience of digital tools in the physical setting via its advanced digital menu and restaurant execution system. With FineDine, you can easily create your menu and keep track of your best-seller food. Seeing your best-seller food on FineDine motivates you and makes it possible to reach your customers through FineDine.
Your customers give insight into your excellent dishes no matter which language they use because FineDine offers more than 40 different language support.
With FineDine, you can also offer half portions easily so that your guests can prevent wasting food. It may be a small step for the planet, but it’s mandatory.
Try FineDine today, and see how you can leverage restaurant analytics on your restaurant with the menu of the future.
