Six Ways to Be More Sustainable in 2021

1. Reducing food waste.

Minimizing food waste is a great place to start in your quest to find ways to be more sustainable. Analyze your ingredients. Are you using products that expire quickly? If so, find more ways to use them or perhaps scrap them from your menu in favor of ingredients that have a longer shelf life. Speaking of scraps, there are plenty of creative ways to use food scraps and shrink the amount of waste your kitchen produces on a daily basis.

Participating in recycling and composting programs are effective ways to prevent landfilling and minimize food waste. More specifically, a used cooking oi recycling program is an easy way to be more proactive. Where does your used oil go when it leaves your fryer? By partnering with a reputable recycler your used cooking oil can be repurposed into renewable diesel – a cleaner burning fuel that reduces carbon emissions by up to 85 percent.

Examine your kitchen and what it produces. You’ll likely find ways to shrink your waste production.

2. Implement water conservation practices

Is your kitchen employing the best water-related practices? There are a number of ways in which your business can save water. This will help you not only in your pursuit of improving your sustainability goals, but can also help you save money in the process. You start by fixing any leaky pipes or faucet or can reusing excess greywater to hydrate any foliage on your property. There is also an array of equipment that can help you cut down on your water use such as water brooms in place of hoses, boiler-less cookers and low flow spray nozzles.

As you move into 2021, take a look around at how your business is using water. You will likely find a few ways in which you can reduce your water use.

3. Use biodegradable packaging

What are you using to package your food? A lot of food and beverage packaging materials are not environmentally friendly. Meaning that the chemicals the packaging is comprised of do not breakdown naturally in the environment – also known as forever chemicals. Switching to a biodegradable alternative will help ensure harmful materials do not return to the environment. Biodegradable packaging uses materials that breakdown 100 percent naturally over a short period of time and decompose into natural elements, according to Heritage Paper. This helps prevent waste building up in landfills. There are a number of options out there. Check them out and make sure your packaging isn’t doing damage to the environment.

4. Reduce paper use

In the digital age in which we currently lie, cutting back on paper use is easier than ever. There are systems available to send customers digital receipts instead of paper ones. Switching to hand dyers instead of paper towels in your bathroom is also effective. If you have paper menus, consider switching to QB codes that allow customers to view the menu on their smartphone.

Are you advertising locally? Cut back on any form of paper advertising in favor of online and social media ads. Not to mention, social media is a much cheaper than paying for traditional TV, print or radio advertising slots. Social media is also more efficient way to advertise your business and allows you greater control of the message you want to convey.

5. Use eco-friendly cleaning materials

Traditional cleaning supplies are littered with chemicals that can have a wide range of negative effects on the environment. Much like packaging alternatives, there are chemical-free cleaning products that are safer to use when tidying up your kitchen. They are biodegradable, non-toxic, and made with sustainable packaging. They are also safer for your staff and are often cheaper than traditional cleaning products. Where can you buy these products? Check out this link for some helpful options that will make your kitchen safer.

6. Promote your efforts internally and externally

The effectiveness of your increased sustainability efforts is limited without your employees fully on board. Train and educate your staff on the practices you implement and incentivize them to make a difference. The more your employees buy in and are conscious of the efforts your business is taking to become more sustainable, the better the results will be. Conversely, advertise your enhanced sustainability initiative on social media and whichever other advertising platforms your business uses. Consumers are as aware as ever when it comes to eco-friendly products and services. Make sure your increased efforts are known.

Sustainability is important in this current climate of social responsibility. Make it your New Year’s resolution to find ways to be more sustainable and do your part to contribute to a better future. Implementing a few of these tips and practices is a great place to start as you head into what is hopefully a prosperous 2021.

12/18/2020