2024 New Year's Resolution Inspiration for Your Sustainable Restaurant

Check your supply chain: Do you work with a supplier or producer whose sustainability ethos simply isn’t up to scratch? Maybe 2024 is the year you evaluate the players across your supply chain and explore switching to a more environmentally-friendly and/or socially just alternative where possible. 

Source seafood sustainably: Aggressive fishing practices and pollution have left our oceans in a state of dangerous depletion, so finding sustainable ways to source and serve seafood is critical. Goals here could include removing the ‘Big Five’ (cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns) from your menu, buying only from MSC-certified fisheries or choosing only fish that is rated 1-3 in the MCS Good Fish Guide. 

Support local: Customers are increasingly aware of the benefits of locally-sourced food, so putting provenance on the menu is a great move. You could set a target for sourcing a higher percentage of your ingredients from within a particular radius, decide to buy only meat reared within your region or country, or make it your mission to use only in-season vegetables from local suppliers. 

Choose regenerative: Regenerative farming is coming into the spotlight this year, and with good reason. These mixed farming systems are designed to restore and replenish, undoing the years of damage we’ve caused to our soils and the natural world around us. Explore your options for sourcing some or more of your ingredients from restorative agricultural systems like these, where soil health and biodiversity are prioritised. 

More plants on the menu: Setting clear targets for increasing the proportion of plant-based foods on your menu is a great way to reduce environmental impact and scope 3 emissions. Check out this list of some of the most sustainable foods to include; make sure your menu design supports plant-based choices; feature a wider variety of plant ingredients; or simply commit to featuring more planet-friendly beans and pulses. 

Better meat: Where you do still include meat in your dishes, can you define clear goals for improving its quality? This could mean switching to all organic or higher welfare, or buying meat from animals reared within the sort of regenerative farm systems mentioned above.  

Switch to clean energy: Making the move to clean sources of energy can make a huge difference to your carbon emissions and overall environmental impact. If this is something you’re considering, be sure to download our free toolkit designed to help hospitality businesses in the transition to renewable energy, complete with practical advice and real-life examples from businesses in our network. 

Reduce your food waste: Food waste is the hospitality industry’s dirty secret and is one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis. Minimising your restaurant’s food waste can reduce your environmental impact while also cutting costs. Consider implementing processes that track food waste, identify where your biggest sources lie and find ways to avoid waste in the first place.
 

Explore nose-to-tail cooking: One specific way to reduce food waste is by designing menus that use every part of the meat, fish and produce you buy. Nose-to-tail, fin-to-gill or root-to-shoot cooking does require some planning, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much waste you prevent and how much money you can save. This is also a fantastic way to spark fresh ideas and creativity across your food offering. 

Water usage: Around 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year. Climate change and pollution pose urgent threats to water supply, while agriculture uses – and wastes – incredible volumes. By 2025, it’s predicted that up to two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. Examining where and why your business might be wasting water and finding smart ways to minimise wastage is a resolution worth keeping. 

Carbon emissions: If your business hasn’t started tracking and reducing your greenhouse gas emissions – including those tricky Scope 3 emissions – make 2024 the year you begin. Measure where you are now and set clear targets for reductions. 

Feed people well: “Human health and planetary health are deeply interconnected,” (WHO, 2021), and part of any restaurant’s sustainability plans should focus on providing nutritious menu options. If you’re redesigning menus for the new year, make sure you include healthy, nourishing dishes that are big on flavour. You might also wish to consider whether the language on your menu encourages healthy choices. 

Boost your community involvement: Restaurants play an important cultural role in modern society, functioning as community hubs and ‘third spaces’. Actively strengthening your ties to your local community brings benefits to the area and to your business; consider adopting one or more of these suggestions as a New Year’s resolution. 

Give back through charity work: One of the ways your restaurant can put down stronger roots is to contribute to a local charity. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean financial donations: you could donate food, offer your space free of charge for events they run or start doing staff volunteer days, either as a whole team or on an individual basis. 

Staff wellbeing: Speaking of your team, making staff wellbeing a priority is a resolution that can make a real difference in people’s day-to-day lives. Consider ideas like making a 40-hour work week the standard; offering mental health support where needed; creating written policies that outline a zero-tolerance attitude towards bullying and harassment; or actively working to build a better company culture. 

Training and development: Providing direction and support for career progression (including opportunities for training and development) is incredibly important for keeping employees motivated, engaged and, ultimately, on your team – something that’s only become more relevant as staff shortages have continued. This is one 2024 resolution that can significantly boost your attraction, recruitment and retention capabilities.