CATERING A MENU FOR


A SUSTAINABLE OPERATION


Measurable, demonstrable sustainability practices are becoming a common requirement within


catering, whether it’s to meet CSR goals, comply with legislation or provide data in tenders.


Here Xenia zu Hohenlohe Managing Partner of CSR specialists Considerate Hoteliers outlines two important aspects to consider.


As part of our CSR work within the hospitality industry, sustainable procurement and providing measurable data are now much more than ‘nice to haves’; they are an essential element of an organisation’s KPIs and are needed for tender document purposes.


ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE PURCHASING


POLICY While increasing sustainability might be a laudable aim, the whole process can fall down if there isn’t an effective catering purchasing policy right from the outset.


Catering is so dependent on the collaboration of suppliers that having a written policy is an important initial document that sets out the guidelines that every supplier and internal department needs to adhere to. For larger multinational organisations, rather than having a one-size-fits- all policy, we’d advocate making it relevant to the region or country of each catering operation.


This would also need to include regional certifications such as the Soil Association or Rainforest Alliance, and legal entities that need to be followed. The very word ‘policy’ tends to trigger the switch-off button in many people, as the documents


36 | TOMORROW’S FM


tend to be word-heavy, cumbersome and abstract for everyday use.


This is why we advise creating a user-manual allied to the purchasing policy specifically for this reason, dividing the guidance according to product group, whether it’s fresh produce, bakery, spirits or non-food items. Breaking down the guidance and presenting it in an easy-to-follow manner that provides practical advice, will ensure greater buy-in, both internally and externally. One of the key aspects of the policy and user manual is the opportunity it presents to outline the targets or roadmap for improvement that the organisation wants to achieve.


RELATE DATA BACK TO MEANINGFUL BOTTOM


LINE MEASUREMENTS To keep the move towards greater sustainability on-track it’s important to chart and measure change, share the progress being made with staff, and ensure each person understands their role in the journey.


For instance many of our hospitality clients collect data through Con- Serve, our data management system, which shines the spotlight on costs associated with sustainability, from energy through to laundry, food waste and general waste.


It’s one thing collecting the data, but only when it’s related back to relevant bottom line measurements does it become truly meaningful. Additionally, it can also show the success of a purchasing policy, given that this should also result in less waste.


“CATERING IS


DEPENDENT ON THE COLLABORATION OF SUPPLIERS.”


For instance one client aimed to cut 20% off its food cover utility costs by 2020. By setting this clear objective and including a list of actions that would move towards this, the group actually succeeded in reducing food cover utility costs by 7%, from £1.24 to £1.15, across its restaurants in the first 12 months.


There’s nothing like figures to focus the mind to create a list of tangible actions that can be taken to reduce costs. Even simple changes can result in big wins when it comes to staunching the haemorrhaging of costs, such as switching off extraction hoods above cookers when they’re not in use.


Just as important as the benchmarking process, is the effective communication of the results. It might seem glib but when you’re aiming to change behaviours, communicating the results in a way that sticks more easily in people’s minds is a real bonus. For instance, using pictorial representations of the reduced tonnage of waste portrayed as the equivalent number of elephants weighing the same amount, can be highly effective and a much more graphic representation of the results.


www.consideratehoteliers.com twitter.com/TomorrowsFM


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