Sustainable Bites 4.10.23

• Restaurant survey shows extent of staffing crisis in the UK
• Animal advocacy group calls for SDG18
• McDonald’s pushes back against reusable material proposals
• Almost all of Europe is living with high levels of air pollution
• Growth in green energy is promising – but more is needed
• New global framework for regenerative agriculture 

Restaurant survey shows extent of staffing crisis in the UK

Restaurant has conducted a survey of 150 restaurants – large and small – to get a snapshot of the current staffing challenges faced by the industry.

The report acknowledges that the staffing crisis “had been bubbling beneath the surface for decades,” but says that the combination of Brexit and the pandemic brought things to a head. It describes the restaurant industry as “a victim of its own success,” noting how the sector has grown exponentially and become more skills-intensive over the past few decades.

The report also points to the industry’s “long-standing image problem”, with many people viewing it a stopgap rather than a viable career option. The industry “traditionally hasn’t done the best job at communicating what it can offer and […] has fallen short when it comes to pay, working conditions and job progression.”

Following the mass exodus from the industry during the pandemic, these shortcomings are no longer an option, with restaurants now having to work much harder to attract and retain the right staff. Encouragingly, the report reveals that “working conditions have improved dramatically, there is more of an emphasis on training and development and pay is higher than it has ever been.”

Some of the key figures from the report were:

• 82% of businesses surveyed were currently looking for staff, and many are having to ask existing employees to work longer hours than they would like
• 87% are turning to students to fill the skills gap, and 42% are having to employ people who are under-experienced for the role in question
• 60% believe that Brexit has had a significant impact on their ability to hire staff
• 72% said that back-of-house roles are the hardest to fill
• 48% of employee surveyed said that higher pay was the main motivation when switching jobs.

Creating a positive company culture is key to addressing the staffing crisis; read our top 10 tips for doing this here.

Animal advocacy group calls for SDG18

Animal advocacy group Beyond Cruelty Foundation (BCF) is calling for the addition of an 18^th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) – Zero Animal Exploitation – arguing that none of the current 17 targets is achievable without this goal.

Introduced by the UN in 2015, the SDGs call for countries across the globe to improve social, economic and environmental prosperity by 2030. The new campaign hopes to convince the UN to add Zero Animal Exploitation as an 18th goal; encourage policies seeking to reduce and eliminate reliance on animals; and serve as an informational hub raising awareness about how animal exploitation undermines the SDGs.

BCF President Claire Smith confirmed that BCF has been in talks with key figures from various UN departments. “All of them see merit in a shift away from the use of animals. However, without an overarching goal, it is hard for them to incorporate this aim into their specific projects.”

Smith believes that adding this goal can help to speed up the process of achieving the other 17, currently predicted to miss their 2030 timeframe. “Climate would be one example, where action on all fronts is necessary, and ignoring animal agriculture risks exacerbating the problem,” said Smith. “With appropriate support, proper planning and the implementation of viable steps, our global goal of Zero Animal Exploitation can be achieved and assist in the achievement of the other 17 SDGs.”

BCF has designed a graphic tile to match those of the current SDGs, featuring a chicken. The organisation will be hosting free online events with expert speakers from multiple industries and hopes to create a coalition of animal advocacy groups and activists to endorse the initiative.

McDonald’s pushes back against reusable material proposals

Fast-food companies are pushing back against EU proposals that would require restaurants to use reusable materials for serving dine-in customers.

Last year, the EU proposed rules that would mandate widespread use of reusable materials for all food. While targets for takeaway packaging have since been removed, the proposed legislation still includes those for food consumed inside quick-service restaurants.

The European Parliament’s environment committee is scheduled to vote on the proposal on October 24th. Once approved, it becomes the parliament’s official negotiating position. EU member states are still working out individual positions, which means a final law is likely months away at minimum.

The restaurant industry has invested heavily in recyclable and biodegradable packaging in recent years, and not everyone is happy about the prospect of moving in a new direction entirely. A spokesperson for McDonald’s said that after spending years reducing the use of plastics in its restaurants, the EU plan would amount to a reversal.

Jon Banner, the Global Chief Impact Officer for McDonald’s, said, “We’re going to have to end up reintroducing plastic to our restaurants with the goal of having it be reused and reused and reused.” McDonald’s has experimented with offering reusable cups in several European countries, and Banner says that many of them simply disappear.

Environmental groups are adamant that the EU should press ahead. “Recycling is not a silver bullet to fixing our waste problem,” said Tatiana Luján, the material systems lead for ClientEarth, a an environmental law non-profit. “The benefits of reuse materials are that they help to close the waste loop, producing and using less material over time. The commission’s proposal is giving the industry 17 years to prepare to sell 40% of takeaway food in reusable containers, which allows ample time for business to adjust.”

Almost all of Europe is living with high levels of air pollution

For weeks, the inhabitants of a village in the heart of the Po Valley have been plagued by intense air pollution. Noxious fumes coming from farmland around the village of Crotta d’Adda in the Cremona province are causing vomiting, breathing difficulties, dizziness, swollen eyes and headaches.

Home to about 600 people, this village is surrounded by pig and poultry farms that repurpose faeces from these animals into fertiliser, then use this to coat the land in a process known as “sludge spreading”. Agricultural practices like this, combined with high levels of industrialisation in the region, have caused extreme air pollution with dire consequences for human health. While local initiatives such as restrictions on pollution-emitting vehicles have done some good in tackling smog across the Valley, authorities are slow to take stronger action due to economic concerns.

The Po Valley is by far the worst region in Western Europe for air pollution – but people across the entire continent are breathing dangerous particles. An investigation by the Guardian in September concluded that Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across the continent living in areas with risky levels of air pollution.

Analysis of data revealed that 98% of people in Europe live in areas with fine particulate pollution that exceed WHO guidelines; almost two-thirds live in areas where air quality is more than double the guidelines. The tiny airborne particles measured in this research are known as PM2.5, and are mostly produced from the burning of fossil fuels. Some of these particles can enter the bloodstream through the lungs, affecting almost every organ in the body. Experts say PM2.5 pollution causes about 400,000 deaths a year across the continent.

Growth in green energy is promising – but more is needed

The chances of the world remaining within the 1.5˚C limit on global heating set out in the Paris Agreement have improved as a result of recent growth in renewable energy and green investment, according to Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Birol said that, while there is much more to be done, the rapid uptake of solar power and electric vehicles in recent months was encouraging.

“Despite the scale of the challenges, I feel more optimistic than I felt two years ago,” he said in an interview. “Solar photovoltaic installations and electric vehicle sales are perfectly in line with what we said they should be, to be on track to reach net zero by 2050, and thus stay within 1.5˚C. Clean energy investments in the last two years have seen a staggering 40% increase.”

Birol did also underscore that GHG emissions from the energy sector were “still stubbornly high”, and that the extreme weather seen around the world this year had shown the climate was already changing “at frightening speed”.

In a new report called ‘Net Zero Roadmap’, the IEA has called on developed countries with 2050 net zero targets to bring them forward by several years. Birol said that Cop28 – the UN climate summit to be held in Dubai this winter – is a key opportunity for countries to set out tougher plans for cutting their emissions. However, he warned that the biggest hurdle at the summit would be in coming to international agreement and cooperation.

Birol made it clear that the richest countries should be moving much faster on bringing forward their net zero targets, saying, “Advanced economies have special responsibilities in fighting climate change. What I would expect advanced economies to do is to increase their ambition further, rather than reducing it.” This advice sits in stark contrast to recent moves from the UK government; under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, we’ve seen frustrating reversals and delays in several key policies necessary for the UK to achieve its climate goals.

New global framework for regenerative agriculture

The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform – a non-profit dedicated to sustainable agriculture – has unveiled a global framework for regenerative agriculture in a bid to accelerate an industry-wide transition to regenerative farming methods. Called ‘Regenerating Together’, the framework and programme have been designed to unite the food and beverage industry and bring about systemic change in our global food supply.

The SAI Platform has worked with farmers, academic institutions, NGOs and businesses to craft an approach to agriculture aimed at mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change.

The Regenerating Together framework will focus on four areas of impact including water, soil, biodiversity and climate. Its key objectives include improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, conserving water in the soil, reducing water consumption and prioritising the financial viability of farmers. The framework also aims to empower farmers to collaborate with supply chain partners to achieve tangible outcomes, turning concepts into action at farm level.

The framework involves 30 agriculture cooperatives, industry players and the 170-member SAI Platform – including big-hitters like Nestlé, Danone, Unilever and PepsiCo – all making a commitment to a standard for regenerative agriculture.

SAI Platform’s Director General Dionys Forster said: “With our Regenerating Together programme, we are proud to be driving collaboration across the food and beverage industry at what is a critical moment for the sector. Regenerative agriculture is the way forward to ensure productivity and farm ecosystem viability – we must act now and further transition towards farming practices that protect the future of our planet.”

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