3 Easy Ways To Make Your Food Business More Sustainable

Julie Starr • May 21, 2020



As a food business, sustainability should be at the heart of your brand. Customers and diners are savvier than ever with an acute need to know where the food that they are eating is coming from. They don’t want to be eating New Zealand lamb that has a mammoth carbon footprint when they know that you can source lamb from the farm an hour’s drive away. Being eco-friendly is a vital part of business nowadays, and it’s no different for the food industry. Take a look at how you can ensure that your food business is as sustainable as possible.

Street Food

The most on-trend food businesses at the moment are those that use local, often organic produce, that emulates authentic cuisine. Street food is seen as a rustic and accessible form of catering that many different sorts of diners are tapping into. The variety of food on offer is exciting – Mexican tacos, Vietnamese pho or vegan gyros. To maintain sustainability, think about the sort of mobile unit you may use. By following this ultimate guide for custom canopy tents , you can market yourself and your brand effectively while having a sturdy, resilient and reusable outlet for your food. Think about your ingredients and link up with fellow sellers at the events and foodie markets that you attend. Local cheesemongers and butchers will relish being part of your enterprise and it will save the food miles. Push this facet of your business to your diners as they will appreciate your eco-credentials.

Packaging

The worst way to be unsustainable is by using excess packaging and packaging that is damaging to the environment. If you are selling burgers, open sandwiches or meals, there are plenty of recyclable plates and tubs that you can serve from. You could even source biodegradable packaging for your cuisine . You also need to consider the packaging of the ingredients you buy. Plastic does real damage to the environment so you need to steer clear of this as much as possible. Encourage reuse amongst your customers. If you serve coffee, have a money off incentive to encourage your customers to enjoy your caramel latte in their own reusable cup.

Respect Workers

If you are sourcing ingredients from overseas because there is no local alternative such as chocolate, raw cacao, coconut or spices, don’t just ensure the food and packaging is eco-friendly. You also need to respect the workers that are producing your product. Research the farms, plants, and companies you deal with and ensure that they pay their workers a fair wage. You don’t want to be funding or contributing to the harm or mistreatment of human beings. While this may feel a little abstract, you need to remain socially conscious.

Being part of the food industry can be challenging in these uncertain times. The economy is looking less stable than in previous years and you need to ensure that you can show off the benefits of your enterprise to your diners. With a sustainable attitude, your business can thrive.

 

Simple Steps To Make Your Office Space More Eco-Friendly

By Julie Starr • 07 Oct, 2024
Becoming more eco-friendly and running a greener business is a responsibility that business owners really need to think more about. The good news is that if you spend a lot of time in your office, there are plenty of ways to make it more eco-friendly without having to overhaul everything and start again (which isn’t just disruptive, but expensive too). So, if you’re ready to get started, here are some simple steps to make your office space more eco-friendly; read on to find out more. Use Energy-Efficient Lighting This idea is a simple one that you can do no matter what else might be on your list of tasks - it’s quick, easy, and really makes a difference; change your light bulbs to something more energy efficient. If you’re still using traditional fluorescent bulbs, it’s time to upgrade to LED which doesn’t just last longer, but also uses a lot less energy. They’re easy to install and they’ll help you cut down on your office’s energy usage almost instantly. If possible, you should make the most of natural light too, so think about rearranging your workspace to let in more sunlight, which saves energy and can boost your mood - it’s a win-win that you can do right away. Prioritize Air Quality The air you breathe matters, and keeping it clean can do wonders for your health and the planet. One way to improve air quality is by adding plants to your workspace because plants are natural air purifiers, and as a bonus, they’ll make your office feel more inviting. Another great idea is to make sure your office’s HVAC system is working efficiently, and having air duct cleaning done by professionals is an easy step you can take to improve air quality and ensure your heating and cooling systems aren’t wasting energy. Clean air ducts mean cleaner air, less strain on your system, and even lower energy bills, so it’s a simple but really effective thing to do. Switch To Reusable Products If your office is still stocking up on single-use plastic items, it’s time for a change - swap your disposable cups, utensils, and plates for reusable ones and you’ll be surprised at how much waste to eliminate. And what about encouraging people to bring their own mugs and water bottles to work? Give them tea, coffee, and water to refill everything with, and you’ll be doing your bit to help the planet and have less waste to deal with as well. And don’t stop with these things either - there are loads of reusable products that could be useful in your office. You could have refillable pens and ink cartridges for your printer, for example. Go Paperless Speaking of your printer, is that an office machine you actually need? If you were to go digital and aim for a paperless office , you might be able to do away with the printer, which means less money spent on ink and paper, and less energy used altogether. You should be able to set up a system where documents can be shared online and stored electronically, and there are plenty of tools around to help you do exactly that (and much more). If you don’t need to print something and you don’t need a physical copy of a document, don’t make one - just use the digital version instead and you’ll be a lot more eco-friendly.

3 Most Unsustainable Industries & What They're Doing To Be More Eco-Conscious

By Julie Starr • 04 Oct, 2024
Sustainability often gets pushed on the common person. Joe Public is told to be more sustainable with their daily habits as the government pushes for more eco-friendly measures. This is all well and good - but does it really matter when 71% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just 100 companies around the world? Small business owners are desperate to prove their sustainability, but what are bigger companies in some of the most polluting industries doing to help? We’ve taken three of the least sustainable sectors on the planet and explored the unique ways they’re trying to cut down on emissions and be more eco-friendly. Mining Any industry revolving around drilling underground will not be very environmentally friendly! Mining causes a lot of pollution, but its unsustainability often comes from the way it damages local environments and ecosystems. So, what is this industry doing to change things? It’s largely focusing on more responsible mining practices to reduce waste and mitigate the impact on local environments. This is done through mining dust suppression systems to prevent airborne pollution, reforesting mining sites when they’re no longer in use, and recycling as many materials as possible. Is it perfect? No, but it’s a step in the right direction. Fossil Fuels Shock horror; the fossil fuels industry is the most damaging to our environment. Finding ways to change the scope of this sector is the key to ensuring a better future for all. Some companies in this industry are trying to do this through carbon capture and storage. This is a technique where CO2 emissions are captured before they’re released into the atmosphere and stored underground. Realistically, the main thing fossil fuel companies should be doing is pushing for more renewable energy sources. Many are doing this - though reports suggest they’re not investing as much as they should. If fossil fuel companies dumped more money into developing biofuels and other renewable sources, pollution from this industry would drop dramatically. Fashion The most unbelievable stat to take from this post is that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of our global carbon footprint . That’s remarkable (and worrying), considering how most of us don’t view it as a “dangerous” industry. Fast fashion is the main problem; poorly-made goods are pumped out at a rapid rate, and consumers constantly buy new things. Fashion companies are trying their best to resolve this. Most big brands will now have sustainable lines using recyclable materials. Consumers also hold the key to solving this problem: stop buying new clothes all the time and wear yours for longer. Or buy pre-owned clothes to slow down the fashion production line. Companies can still do more as well: they are trying to adopt more eco-friendly production processes that use less water and energy. The moral of this post is that everyone can do their bit to fight for a more sustainable future. Keep this in mind for your small business . It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; there will always be ways to promote eco-friendly practices.
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