As environmental concerns continue to grow, businesses across all industries are increasingly adopting sustainability initiatives to reduce their environmental footprint. When it comes to restaurants, Brian Voelzing, Founder and Managing Director of Beluga Hospitality, looks at ways in which venues are engaging in sustainable practices.
UAE, DUBAI, JUNE 13, 2023: The restaurant industry has significant environmental impact, and we are seeing many restaurants increasingly engaging in sustainability practices. Many UAE-based restaurants are currently performing or implementing a variety of sustainable initiatives in their outlets, while those in the stages of opening a restaurant in the country now consider sustainability a major part of how they design their restaurant layout and source materials to build their outlet.
While many sustainability practices should be ongoing and can be adopted by running operations there are many steps you can put in place before opening a new establishment. Creating a more sustainable operation should start with the layout of the kitchen. It is important that the layout is not only strategic for movement among chefs working but also allowing the equipment to have breathing space. For example, keeping an ice machine next to an oven will waste more energy and it will also cause the breakdown of equipment much faster, forcing restaurant owners to invest in new equipment more regularly.
Those opening restaurants should work closely with their kitchen suppliers to ensure they are using high-efficiency equipment, LED light bulbs, induction cookers where possible and installing smart thermostats – all of which will save both energy and money.
From an operational perspective, we have seen an incredible reduction of single use plastics and more restaurants using environmentally friendly packaging, however, more needs to be done to reduce the costs of biodegradable packaging worldwide so more restaurants are able to adopt this practice. Creating biodegradable plastics often takes less energy than traditional plastics and releases fewer harmful substances when degrading. More biodegradable plastics will also reduce the waste in landfills which is often burned creating more chemicals to be released into the environment. The downside is it costs more to make, however, as more restaurants and business switch to biodegradable packaging we will see reduction in price, hopefully.
One of the most promising things we are seeing in restaurants is sustainable focused menus. These menus source their products locally whenever possible, reduce waste and often showcase more plant-based menu options. Sourcing local ingredients not only supports local farmers but also has a major impact in the fact that items are not being transported by plane, truck or ship reducing the carbon footprint of those items going onto a menu. This usually reduces the purchasing costs for restaurants, too, so it’s a win-win.
The UAE is at the forefront of sustainability and while many restaurants have embraced sustainable practices to reduce their environmental impact there is more to be done to protect our planet for future generations.