Front of House Sustainability Practices
Sustainability is at the forefront of everyones minds, be it related to their own lives or their businesses practices. The food service industry is not a sustainably focused industry, but in this regard things are changing, as business operators and suppliers listen to their consumers who want the places the choose to spend their money to carry the same values as they do. there are many ways we can make our business practices more sustainable, and not only are sustainable practices better for the environment many of them can also save your business money!
Turn it Off
It may seem relatively simple but many restaurants will only turn off the lights when they leave the building and close up for the night. Turning off unessential items such as your coffee machine, POS system and other electronics when they’re not in use is an excellent way for you to stop using excess electricity and reduce your electricity bill.
Smart Energy Monitoring
Invest in smart thermostats for your business. This relatively new technology turns your heating and cooling systems on and off as necessary to maintain the temperature you set it at. As well as optimizing the temperature of your location these devices save you electricity, and therefore money, by turning your climate control equipment on and off as needed. It also means that your location is kept at the correct temperature increasing guest and employee comfort in your building. Many of these device can also be set for an “off period” meaning that you can have them turn off your heaters and air conditioning when your location is closed an unoccupied.
Lighting
Using eco-friendly low energy lightbulb across your location will reduce your energy bill and help the environment. Introducing motion sensors for the lighting systems in your storage rooms and bathrooms can also help reduce your electricity usage by not having lights on when not needed and preventing someone from leaving them on by accident. Motion sensor lighting also significantly increase the lifespan of your new eco-friendly, low energy lightbulbs.
Bathrooms
In your bathrooms consider introducing low-flow, motion sensor taps, as well as toilets and urinals which are designed to optimize the amount of water used. These will help to reduce your water consumption as well as show your customers that you’re making an effort to care for the environment. There’re now many brands of automatic, single serve towel dispensers out there, meaning that customers only use the paper towels they need rather than grabbing a handful of towels and needlessly throwing many of them away.
Water
Most locations will immediately give their guests water upon arrival and continually top up their water as their visit goes on. Often guests leave with almost full water glass left on the table and there is no other option but to pour this down the drain; wasting what is one of the planets most precious resources. This wasted water also goes on your water bill. Educate your staff and train them to ask customers about water refills. You could even go as far as only pouring water at the request of guest.
Electricity and water are both variable costs associated with your business. With a little forethought, and some small investments and changes here and there, these can be reduced and your usage of these resources can be optimized. Protecting both your pocket and the environment!
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