Sustainable Bites: 19th July 2023
Welcome to our biweekly round-up of food, sustainability and hospitality news bites. Dig in…
The amuse bouche
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Planet Earth bakes as records suggest hottest week ever
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New report calls for urgent action from the UK’s hospitality sector
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Is greenwashing finally becoming obsolete?
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EU food waste targets proposed for 2030
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Another study emphasises restaurants’ influence over consumer choices
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A new, sustainable plastic alternative may be on the horizon
And for the main…
Planet Earth bakes as records suggest hottest week ever
The UN Secretary General António Guterres said that “climate change is out of control,” as an unofficial analysis of average world temperatures showed that the seven-day period ending on Wednesday 5th July was the hottest week ever recorded.
During the week in question, the daily average temperature was .04˚C higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.
Prof. Christopher Hewitt, WMO Director of Climate Services, said “We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further and these impacts will extend into 2024,” he said. “This is worrying news for the planet.”
Drastic action is needed across every sector in order to halt the climate crisis, and the time we have left is dwindling. At the Climate Innovation Forum at the end of June, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan switched on the Climate Clock as a symbolic warning that there were only six years and 24 days left to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. At the time of publishing this newsletter, we’re down to six years and two days.
Speaking after he was knighted last week at Windsor Castle, Sir Alok Sharma – previous President of COP26 – emphasised that the world is “not on track” to curb rising temperatures. “The reality is that, if we are going to keep alive the prospect of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, we need to be doing a lot more (and) countries need to accelerate on the commitments they’ve already made.”
How we act now – within these six years and two days – will determine what life looks like in the future for every human who is alive now and for those yet to be born. It’s time for every government, policymaker and industry to step up. Speaking of which…
UK hospitality sector must take urgent action for a net zero future
A new industry report, Race to Net Zero, shows that the UK’s hospitality industry must take urgent action to transition to a low-carbon economy. Businesses, governments and investors must all act now to accelerate the change.
The hospitality sector is responsible for up to 15% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, but faces a number of obstacles on the road to net zero, including the echoing effects of Covid and Brexit, high inflation, rising energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis.
Funded by a collective of hospitality companies, with sponsorship from Net Zero Now and Clarasys, the report identifies key priorities for the sector: a better understanding of the commercial case for net zero; greater allocation of capital to net zero investments; and better collaboration across the value chain.
It highlights that a significant amount of emissions reductions can be achieved by implementing quick wins like energy efficiency and waste reduction, and highlights resources that venues can easily access, including The Sustainable Restaurant Association (that’s us!), Zero Carbon Forum and the Net Zero Hospitality Initiative.
The report calls on specific key actions from operators, government and trade bodies, suppliers and investors. The actions demanded from hospitality operators are:
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to set net zero goals with their teams and stakeholders, and
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to collaborate and share best practice to find the best route through each challenge.
Hamish Stoddart – founder of Peach Pubs and the architect of the Race to Net Zero collaborative group – said, “I opened my first pub shortly after the world’s scientists concluded climate change was man-made. Twenty years later, emissions are continuing to rise. The UK government has set a net zero target for 2050 so the question is not IF hospitality must go net zero, but when. There are some bold hospitality businesses pushing forward but we need to do much more, more quickly. This is a commercial opportunity for the industry to cut costs, attract customers and protect against future regulation. We must take that opportunity.”
Simon Heppner, Executive Director of Net Zero Now, said: “The UK’s pubs, bars and restaurants are at the heart of our communities and conversations, and have an outsize influence in the journey we all need to make to a more sustainable economy. Net Zero Now launched the Net Zero Hospitality Initiative with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Pernod Ricard to make sure all operators in the sector can help tackle climate change and ultimately boost business success. We urge businesses to get on board.”
Is greenwashing becoming obsolete?
With the EU Commission’s proposed Green Claims Directive – new rules that would ban misleading company claims such as ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘eco’ and ‘natural’, plus any messaging based solely on carbon offsetting schemes – it seems greenwashing is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
This is compounded by increased climate-washing litigation against companies, as reported in a new study by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Authors Joana Setzer and Kate Higham explained that the last few years have seen an explosion of such cases, saying, “One of the most significant groups of climate-washing cases to emerge in recent years have been cases challenging the truthfulness of corporate climate commitments, particularly where these are not backed up by adequate plans and policies.”
It has long been the case that the climate crisis has required action, not empty words. Now, with sustainability a bigger factor in decision-making than ever before, consumers are demanding the same. Across every industry, we need to see businesses taking practical, tangible and measurable actions that are reported in an open and transparent manner.
EU food waste targets proposed for 2030
In order to accelerate the EU’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, the European Commission is proposing legally binding food waste reduction targets to be achieved by Member States by 2030 as part of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive.
More specifically, Member States are required to take the necessary measures to reduce food waste by the end of 2030:
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by 10% in processing and manufacturing,
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by 30% (per capita) jointly at retail and consumption. “Consumption” here includes both restaurants and other foodservice businesses, as well as households.
It’s likely that this will put some pressure on the UK to implement similar targets.
The proposal provides for a formal review of progress made by Member States by the end of 2027, including the possibility to update targets if evidence suggests that the EU can do even better – a situation worth working towards, considering that these new targets still fall short of the 50% reduction specified under SDG 12.3.
If your restaurant doesn’t work to measure and minimise food waste, now is the time to get started – 2030 is not that far in the future. Not only will you be ahead of the curve when this legislation comes into effect, but reducing food waste can also have real benefits for your business: saving money on orders and disposal, encouraging creativity in your kitchen and providing a positive selling point for environmentally conscious consumers.
It’s time to put change on the menu
A new report titled ‘The Illusion of Choice: Why Someone Already Decided What You Will Eat For Lunch’ shines a light on how consumption habits are largely a product of our food environment, rather than individual choice.
Produced by Eurogroup for Animals, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and the European Public Health Alliance as part of a project called ‘Put Change on the Menu’, the report shows that the food environment has an enormous influence over consumer choices.
Highlighting that current food environments largely push consumers towards unhealthy and unsustainable foods, the report calls on policy-makers to make it easy for customers to choose healthy, largely plant-based diets with ‘less and better’ meat.
Multiple reports and studies in recent weeks have underlined the power that the food industry wields over consumer choice, and how this can be used to effect positive change for a healthier, more sustainable global diet. As more hospitality businesses become aware of our power, the question now is: how will we wield it? As we argued last week, power means responsibility. We need restaurants – and every other type of food environment – to make great-tasting, nutritionally beneficial, environmentally sustainable dishes a priority across every menu.
A sweet treat to finish
New, sustainable plastic alternative on the horizon
A team of scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have created a new edible, biodegradable material by working with bacterial cellulose, an organic compound produced by bacteria. According to them, this has the potential to become a viable alternative to plastic packaging.
The study’s corresponding author, Professor To Ngai from the CUHK Department of Chemistry, explained that bacterial cellulose could replace plastic packaging due to its high versatility. The material showed stability in water, visible transparency and oil resistance. The team also discovered the film was fully biodegradable within 1-2 months – significantly faster than other bioplastics, and with no intervention required.
Unlike plant-derived cellulose, bacterial cellulose can be made without harvesting crops, making it more sustainable. As Ngai explained, “This production method does not contribute to deforestation or habitat loss, making [bacterial cellulose] a more sustainable and environmentally friendly material alternative to plant cellulose. The material […] is completely edible, making it safe for turtles and other sea animals to consume without causing aquatic toxicity in the ocean.”
For more updates from the worlds of food, sustainability and hospitality, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn, and be sure to sign up for The Sustainable Dish, our newly relaunched biweekly newsletter keeping you in the loop on news from The Sustainable Restaurant Association.
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