New sustainability goals for the commercial catering industry

As the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines, a sustainable diet is one “with low environmental impacts, which contributes to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations”. ¹

When it has been observed in supermarkets, and now slowly in restaurants, that demand for organic and environmentally-friendly food is increasing, this is still not a trend for commercial catering companies, who serve our meals at school, at work, or at the hospital.

 

To catch up to consumers’ expectations, as well as take responsibility for delivering a healthy and eco-friendly diet, the industry could try to attain the following sustainability goals:

• Reach 100% of organic food in 7 years
• Ensure that farmers respect the highest animal welfare standards
• Reach 80% less waste in 5 years
• Reduce the meat consumed to reasonable amount (e.g.: no more than 80 g/person, propose alternatives, etc.)
• Have diverse and healthy meals with less sugar, salt, and saturated fat, respecting nutritionists’ recommendations
• Propose affordable meals, with prices comparable to those of traditional menus
• Use, as much as possible, local supply and seasonable food

 

These sustainability goals are drafted to reach a two-fold objective: protection of the environment and a healthier diet for the consumers. Indeed, farming is responsible for around a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases emissions. Furthermore, a growing concern for the well-being of animals has appeared in many countries. Additionally, if the catering industry reached these goals, consumers would be much less exposed to pesticides. Such a diet would also reduce risks in obesity and other diseases such as diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and cancer. ¹

 

Some organizations have already given guidelines to the industry. In the UK for instance, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a major global NGO in wildlife conservation and endangered species, has stated principles, called the “Livewell Principles”, for a sustainable and healthy diet:

• Eat more plants
• Eat a variety of foods
• Waste less food
• Moderate your meat consumption, red and white
• Buy food that meets a credible certified standard
• Eat fewer foods high in fat, salt, and sugar

These recommendations were targeted at consumers but have been adopted by companies working across food sectors as well.

 

However, in the current commercial catering industry, most companies report not having sustainable menu choices and not clearly understanding the definition of a “sustainable” meal. In the best cases, the most that is offered by catering companies will be “healthy” choices. However, it does not seem that much concern is given over the environmental impact of producing the set of menu options. The one environmental problem that is sometimes tackled is waste reduction, as well as decreasing water and energy consumption, both of which make obvious economic sense. Many commercial catering companies state that reducing food waste, energy, and water use makes their meals sustainable and do not take into account the other “Livewell principles”. These companies do not perceive a relationship between sustainability and the food served. Most companies feel threatened by the competition and pressure by the low costs required of them and do not measure their impact.  ¹

 

Even though consumers are not always aware or concerned by the full environmental impact of their diet, an increasing number cares about eating healthier food and understanding the origin of their menus, which is already taken into consideration by some foodservice companies. A few companies already make more major changes, such as trying to shift away from meat, educating the consumers, and slowly considering sustainability issues in their processes. For instance, some companies have started to always offer vegetarian alternative options, train their staff on sustainability, trace the origin of the food products and buy and promote food that has been certified by third parties. ¹

 

One example is the company Sodexo, one of the world’s largest caterers. Sodexo has collaborated with WWF to measure and reduce their environmental impact, as well as increase healthy options. The initiative consists in proposing a range of “Green and Lean” meals in eight independent school sector clients in the UK. The ten principles followed when creating these meals, which can be seen in the following image, increase the nutrition value of the diet and reduce the impact on the environment. ³

A new business model for the cater

The impact of the food we consume on climate change, animal welfare, human health, and species diversity is obvious. Most of us eat, once a day, five days a week, meals prepared by a commercial catering company. The impact of that industry on our health and our environment must thus be clearly reduced by initiatives from that industry, such as lowering the pesticides and other harmful substances used, reducing the greenhouse gases emitted during food growth and production, recycling and reusing the waste, identifying the origin of the food products and the species that can or should not be used, favoring the good nutriments, and restricting as much as possible the transportation distances.

 

To tackle this, the following business model could be followed by a company in the catering industry:

 

• Growing almost all the vegetables locally and organically

An increasing number of restaurants have gardens where they grow some or all the herbs and vegetables they might need. Some, in cities, are even using rooftops for this purpose. ²

The company will start by partnering with farmers, ideally on land the company has previously purchased, very close to a dense sector for the company’s operations. On that land, vegetables and herbs will be grown organically and will supply the kitchens in that sector. The distribution network will need to be created and some existing suppliers will have to be phased out or converted. If credible organic farmers with enough variety are available locally, there will be no need for the company to buy land or to get involved in the production process. Because most of the vegetables and herbs will be produced in one region, the company will have to factor seasonality of the products in its menus, which might require training for the chefs. This could then be scaled-up to more sectors of operations of the company.

 

• Propose smaller portions and a possibility for the consumer to come back and get served again as much and as many times as needed

Currently, the catering companies serve large portions to consumers to ensure none leaves hungry and complains. However, if it was possible for consumers to come back and be served again, as much as they want, with no overcharge, they will accept smaller portions and will only ask for more food if they have finished what they have on their plates and are still hungry. To reduce waste, this will also require a “just-in-time” cooking. Indeed, most meals will need to be prepared while consumers are served so that no unnecessary food is cooked. The company will probably have to employ more staff or to use them more efficiently to ensure small waiting times, in order to not discourage people to line up again, and to cook “just-in-time”. Pricing could also be an issue. The company will have to propose one price for entrance in the restaurant. Of course, if some “unhealthy” options are still proposed, such as cake for example, they will not be part of the small-portions-as-many-times-as-you-want process.

 

• Use recycled and recyclable products, recycle food ²

All the plastic, plates, dishes used should come from ideally recycled, or at least recyclable, products. The cleaning or cooking products should also be organic. The sustainability principle will apply to the operation as a whole. The company will need to train the suppliers to reduce packaging and, in general, to apply the same sustainability principles. The food waste will be sorted by the consumers themselves and will be used as compost, either in the fields of the farmers in partnership with the company, or sold to others. Both options mean an added layer to the distribution channel.

 

• Track the origin of the food product and buy food with a label or standard if possible

The number of suppliers will be reduced and existing suppliers will be converted or some new suppliers will be found, who are already committing to credible standards. However, for food products without labels or standards, the company will have to track down their origin and, in the case of meat, ensure the well-being of animals. Suppliers will be asked to commit to the standards of the company.

 

• Reduce water and energy use in the whole process

By producing locally and organically, much less water and energy will be used in this process than would be in traditional ones. However, the full operation will be audited to examine other possibilities of energy or water use reduction.

 

• Reduce meat consumption, fat, sugar, and salt, increase vegetables and grains in the meals proposed and educate the customers

To propose healthier meals, the company will need to train and educate its staff as well as its consumers. It might have to go by steps and keep unhealthier options for consumers who might want a treat sometimes. However, these should be labeled and explained properly. In general, the company will detail and explain its choices and the reasons behind them for all the options and menus available.

 

The full model would need to be scaled, sector by sector and steps by steps. As the model is slowly implemented, cost will go down thanks to waste management and reduction in intermediaries and price will not rise as it has been proven by the test menus proposed by the Sodexo-WWF partnership. ¹ Hence, once the investment in the new supply chain has been recovered, the company will be able to scale up. Furthermore, bringing healthy and environmentally-friendly options to consumers, in most cases, make them switch their food habits in general. This model would thus influence an increasing number of people to choose sustainable meals and would grow the demand for the company’s business plan. ⁴

 

Of course, this model has many costs and risks associated with it. If an existing company wanted to achieve these goals, it would need to find local farmers and either manage to change their existing suppliers’ culture, which would be difficult, or phase out some of the existing suppliers, who would fight back. Many of the smaller suppliers would be unable to prove they are meeting the standards for which the company is asking. In general, tracking where the food products are coming from and the supply chain they are going through is not an easy feat and would mean implementing organizational tools. Failing to track the products properly might cause health problems as well as risks for the reputation of the company. However, it is much easier in the food industry if the company only uses untransformed and unprocessed food. Furthermore, buying food with internationally recognized labels can help the company choose suppliers without having to audit them. ¹²

A criticism of this model could be that by letting the consumers eat as much as they want, more food will be consumed and costs will be higher. However, except in exceptional cases, clients will eat not more or less than what they need and the reduce in waste will decrease costs overall. Moreover, the shift in the diet from meat to more grains and from imported to local food will reduce costs as well.

Another argument is that there are not enough sustainable food products to supply the whole industry. For example, caterers claim there are not enough sustainable meat or fishes to meet the demand. ¹ However, the point of this model is also to educate the customers and to shift the current demand towards healthier and more sustainable diets.

The biggest barrier to adopting this model will be a reluctance to change from food service companies, for which cost has always been the major concern. Many still believe they cannot offer sustainable options for the same prices. They also do not yet see the trend of customers caring increasingly more about sustainability and do not understand the advantage of changing now towards such a model. ¹

A school in rural France has been leading the way

Mouans-Sartout is a small town in France of a little more than 10 000 inhabitants. The Mayor, concerned by the children’s health, started to implement a nutrition program ten years ago to reduce fat, salt, and sugar and to increase fruits and vegetables in the local school’s kitchen. Realizing more vegetables mean more pesticide exposure, the town then decided to offer more organic food. Steps by steps, a full model was implemented.

The children can specify the amount of each food they want and can come back and get more. Some of the food is cooked during the meals to ensure there will be no over-production. Eighty percent of the vegetables and herbs are produced on land the town has bought. There, twenty tons of vegetables per year are grown completely organically. All the food supplied is organic as well.

The children sort their waste themselves and each bin is weighted after each meal to change menus if necessary and to understand the impact of the program. Compared to before implementation, waste has been reduced by eighty percent. Its overall weight per meal was reduced from 25 kilograms, the French average for school kitchens, to 3 to 5 kilograms. Thanks to this, the cost is reduced by 20 cents per tray, which amounts to 30 000 € yearly. The organic waste from both the cooking and leftovers is used as compost on the land producing the vegetables. The price of the meals has not increased. Sixty-six percent of the parents claim they have now changed their own habits as well.

Of course, this would not have been possible without the town’s government’s help. 35 000 euros have been invested and one job was created by the municipality. ⁴⁵

 

This example, even though it had support from the local government and was deployed at a very small scale, shows that the opportunity exists for catering companies to change their model and to gain the advantage of being able, in the future, to offer what the consumers will demand.

 

Written by Celine Stein

References

¹ Liz Barling, Dan Crossley and Anna Cura, Catering for Sustainability, Making the Case for Sustainable Diets in Foodservice, Food Ethics Council, May 2016

² Sustainability in the Kitchen, Green Hotelier, 27 July 2010

³ Jo Head, Catering for sustainability – the move towards more ecologically friendly cooking, CIEH Food, 17 November 2016

⁴ Lucien Marboeuf, La cantine 100% bio, écolo, (presque) sans déchet, où des élèves responsables mangent équilibré en choisissant leurs portions, FranceTvInfo, 3 April 2016

⁵ Comment réduire les déchets à la cantine ?, LCI Channel, 3 May 2016  (Video)