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COVER: What is sustainability?
It's more than just a buzzword, and it's resonating with your customers
February 3, 2009
This story originally appeared as a FastCasual.com feature on December 23, 2008.
For fast casual restaurateurs who want to understand the greening of the market, the issues of sustainability are important. But does anyone truly understand what sustainability is? It's crucial to realize that the environment is only one piece of the puzzle.Consumers, especially young ones, are learning how to think holistically about not only their food, but also where it comes from and the impact of what they eat on the environment and other people. They crave this information, and if operators want to continue strengthening fast casuals' connection with consumers, they must get educated about sustainability as well.
According to market researchers at The Hartman Group, it was 2007 when they became "the first to dimensionalize the attitudinal shift driving this significant consumer trend of sustainability." The group lists six key values that consumers identify under the umbrella term of sustainability: healthy, local, socially responsible, environmentally responsible, promotes simple living and is controlled.
That's a big list of improvements for even a nearly perfect restaurant, and one that, according to Allison Worthington, managing director of sustainability for The Hartman Group, may be executable only on a local level.
But larger restaurants need not despair, since nearly any concept can enter the sustainability stream in some way, and chains can adapt what works for a local eatery.
"What we find for retail and foodservice is that sustainability is really more about the front-end factors," Worthington said. "Not everything has to be organic or local."
Don't use the menu just to list entrées, sides, desserts and beverages. Tell the story of their origins, who was involved and how the earth was impacted. |
Once upon a time …
In another time, people knew where their milk, eggs, butter, meat and corn came from. Now, few people have any idea, and only journalists such as Eric Schlosser ("Fast Food Nation") have any luck tracing our food back to its source. Enter the story.
According to The Hartman Group, consumers want to know more about what they're eating. "You have to say something," said Worthington. "Make consumers feel good about what they're eating." The organization makes two specific recommendations for restaurateurs looking to reel in greenies:
1. "Communicate brand and company narratives that connect consumers to the people, places and processes that epitomize your company."
2. "[Use] meaningful product and brand narratives and the ability to truly connect with people and places (particularly local)."
In other words, don't use the menu just to list entrées, sides, desserts and beverages. Tell the story of their origins, who was involved along the way and how the earth was impacted by the cultivation, transport and preparation of the customer's meal.
Waste not, want not
Recycling and composting are among the nearly dozen guidelines from the Green Restaurant Association, or GRA, an independent, nonprofit certification group. Taking advantage of local glass, plastic, metal, cardboard, paper, grease, ink and toner recycling is one piece of the green pie for a restaurant.
One way Patrick Fox, chef and owner at Cava Greens in Denver, utilizes recycling is by offering a discount to customers who bring their own bowl. He says some 25 percent of the customers at one of his stores participate in the B.Y.O.B. discount, and that number could increase with more communication and more training.
"It's like remembering to pack your mug when you go to the coffee shop in the morning. It's training the people," Fox said.
And it's not just about recycling materials. According to the GRA, food waste — a major part of restaurant garbage — "can be diverted from landfills and made into nutrient-rich soil through the use of a composting service or an on-site system."
On the other end of recycling, green restaurants also use more products made from recycled materials, either post-consumer or postindustrial waste.
And reusing or reducing materials altogether is gaining ground on recycling efforts. Some restaurateurs are even giving cloth napkins, ceramic cups and dishes, glassware and metal flatware a second look.
Earth, wind, fire and water
While solar power may be the biggest change for businesses looking to save energy and money, the initial cost for most systems requires a long-term commitment, not only to the environment but also to eventually recouping the cost through attracting more green customers.
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The use of recycled resources (top) and local produce (bottom) are two aspects of sustainability consumers use to measure a restaurant's eco-friendliness. |
Even easier than alternative power is passive solar energy. Restaurants can take advantage of more natural light through windows and skylights to help reduce both the usage and cost of electricity and gas and to help with heating and cooling costs by regulating shade and sun.
The building itself also is a concern. Recycled or sustainable building materials such as bamboo, cork and even old tires can be used in ways that both save money and help conserve the earth. Companies looking to build or remodel should check the LEED specifications for green buildings before taking the plunge.
Eco-friendly furnishings made of recycled resources, reclaimed wood or other materials that impact the environment less than traditional resources are another way to make an operation more sustainable.
People matter, too
With all the buzz about the environment, operators sometimes miss what is equally important to consumers — people.
The human factor is part of the definition of sustainability, according to Scott Exo, executive director of Food Alliance, a national nonprofit that works to create market incentives for sustainable agriculture.
"We need to think more broadly if we want to provide safe, healthy, affordable and delicious food for all citizens and better livelihoods for farmers and farm workers, all with less impact on our soils, water and climate," he wrote for Sustainable Food News.
One simple way for any restaurant to become more socially conscious is to use Fair Trade coffee or other Fair Trade-certified foods. These sustain the livelihoods of people — specifically the farmers and workers Exo talks about.
"To be honest, consumers think social responsibility is just as important as environmental responsibility." — Allison Worthington, Managing director of sustainability, The Hartman Group |
The human factor also involves those closer to home. Fair wages and benefits for employees in the restaurant help make human resources more sustainable. Beyond that, good customer service may be the simplest way to create a more sustainable restaurant, since research shows people think their fellow man matters just as much as the environment.
"To be honest, consumers think social responsibility is equally as important as environmental responsibility," said Worthington. "What you have to say is, ‘We want to be a more responsible company.'"
Sustainability is about nothing if it isn't about a full-circle consideration of nearly every part of restaurant operations. And making that consideration requires a holistic view of the operation, which must include concern about where food comes from, reducing waste and supporting the people involved in and affected by the ways a restaurant operates across the spectrum.
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