Earth Day 2023: Invest In Our Planet

The 22^nd April is Earth Day, an annual global event dedicated to inspiring action to protect the environment. The day seeks to improve understanding and encourage an active environmental consciousness dedicated to tackling environmental challenges.

The theme for Earth Day this year is ‘Invest In our Planet’ and is intended to encourage businesses, governments and citizens around the world to invest in our planet and improve our environment thereby providing a better and safer future for all.

But what does this mean for the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry is the third largest contributor to the UK economy. As such, it also has a significant impact on the environment. In fact, it is estimated that the hospitality industry combined  produces 2.87 million tonnes of waste (including food, packaging and other non-food waste) every year, with less than half of that being recycled. Of that amount, almost 1 million tonnes is solely food and restaurants alone are responsible for almost 200,000 tonnes of that waste. The process of growing, harvesting, transporting and delivering food uses a lot of water and energy. These resources are then wasted when that food is wasted and the subsequent disposal of this food in landfills contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as food that decomposes without oxygen (anaerobic decomposition) creates methane and other harmful toxins.  

The Zero Carbon Forum, a non-profit organisation that specifically targets sustainability within the hospitality industry, notes that food waste is a significant contributor to scope 3 emissions in the industry. Scope 3 emissions are the ‘indirect emissions linked to a company’s operation but caused by the supply chain’ and as such can be much harder to track. However, scope 3 emissions contribute to over 90% of the overall emissions created by the industry.

So what do we do now?

Over the past decade we have seen a dramatic growth in environmental consciousness. 62% of consumers have admitted that they prefer to buy from sustainable brands and a staggering 90% expect companies to consider the environmental impact of their practices. The governments’ decision to ban single-use plastic is yet another step in the right direction and indicative of the need for accountability and sustainability efforts on a large scale. As such, by adopting genuine sustainable practices, businesses can do their part for the planet, whilst appealing to environmentally conscious consumers and standing out as a business that is taking action to protect the planet. Moreover, in many cases lower carbon equals lower cost and whilst the initial cost of switching to environmentally conscious options can be high, the long term benefits of these actions can help to reduce costs. By improving energy efficiency, favouring seasonal produce or reducing food waste, a business can enjoy the mutual benefits of protecting the planet and reducing certain costs.

There is no Planet B and ‘without a planet that’s hospitable for people – hospitality can’t exist.’ Therefore, the industry has a responsibility to take meaningful and practical action to reduce it’s negative impact on the environment. The best way to do this is to start small. Small but effective measures to improve sustainability can still have a positive impact and can be more cost effective and realistic for smaller independent businesses. It is important to remember that progression is more meaningful than perfection and multiple businesses taking small, sustainable and consistent measures will have a greater positive impact than solely one business taking larger but inconsistent steps.

Five small wins include:

• Talking to suppliers about cutting down on the packaging that they provide produce in.

• Using seasonal produce to reduce carbon emissions from having food transported across the world.

• Printing menus on recycled paper.

• Encouraging staff to be mindful of their energy usage and ensuring all appliances are turned off at the end of the day.

• Ensuring the upkeep of equipment to help it last as long as possible and to enable it to run as efficiently as possible.