Free workshops on resource efficiency for hospitality and catering industry

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To help restaurateurs save money and the planet, free workshops are available from the LDA Being energy efficient and minimising waste is not just about benefiting the environment, it is also a great way to save restaurateurs money and improve ...

To help restaurateurs save money and the planet, free workshops are available from the LDA

Being energy efficient and minimising waste is not just about benefiting the environment, it is also a great way to save restaurateurs money and improve profitability.

The Government has enforced legislation on businesses, particularly those within the hospitality industry, to force them to take action on reducing waste and become more energy efficient.

To help restaurateurs understand what they need to do, the London Development Agency (LDA) has started offering free workshops in partnership with Envirowise on resource efficiency to businesses in the hospitality and catering industry.

An LDA spokesperson said, "The increasing costs of waste disposal, water and energy use are forcing many businesses to consider how they can improve resource efficiency."

Being resource efficient is not an expensive process, nor is it time consuming, said Envirowise. Reducing the amount of waste and conserving energy can save your business up to one per cent of your turnover. Simple steps such as portion control of food preparation can reduce food wastage by 25 per cent, therefore cutting down the cost of waste disposal.

"Let's say 1kg of food ingredients costs £1. If it becomes waste that's £1 off the bottom line and 5p on the waste bill. Preventing that food from becoming waste adds £1.05 to profits, or 20 times the cost of disposal, and that's not counting the cost of handling and preparing that food before it is thrown in the bin," said an Envirowise spokesperson.

Making customers aware that your restaurant is actively being energy efficient will enable a positive response to your business.

Below is advice from the LDA and Envirowise to restaurateurs who are keen to become resource efficient and increase profit.

For more information about the resource efficient workshop and advice on waste minimisation: lda.gov.uk/tourismsupport envirowise.gov.uk/tips

Do

  • Consider installing water-saving devices in your business, such as water-efficient dishwashers, sensor taps, low flush and dual-flush toilets.
  • Make staff aware of practical approaches to resource efficiency.
  • Think about organising a full audit of where your waste goes and make sure it's the right place.

Don't

  • Use unnecessary amounts of food for preparation of meals.
  • Rinse or defrost food under running water – make sure you defrost at room temperature.

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