Sustainable Restaurant Association goes global with new Food Made Good accreditation tool
The organisation says that the initiative levels the playing field by supplying businesses with trustworthy, expert-led and up-to- date accreditation, as well as providing guidance on the next steps of their commitment to sustainability.
Developed with input from international experts, including the Ellen McArthur Foundation, WRAP and the Ethical Trade Initiative, as well as leading food businesses, the SRA says its newly global Standard is the only certification specifically designed to measure a restaurant’s social and environmental impact, wherever they are in the world.
Completing the Food Made Good Standard also helps to highlight areas for future improvement and provides credibility in communicating sustainable business practices to customers.
Used by some of the most high-profile chefs in the world including Raymond Blanc, Elena Reygadas, Richard Ekkebus and Ángel León, the Standard is designed to measure a business’s social and environmental impact and is built on a 10-point framework, organised across three pillars: Sourcing, Society and Environment.
In order to be both effective and globally applicable, the Food Made Good Standard is closely aligned with international norms, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The newly redeveloped Standard builds on the SRA’s signature Food Made Good assessment, which has been the sustainability accreditation of choice for UK foodservice businesses – covering more than 12,000 sites – since its launch in 2010 and has been used as the basis for judging the sustainability award for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Bars and all its regional offshoots since 2013.
It is also used to judge the Sustainable Restaurant of the Year Award within Restaurant’s own National Restaurant Awards.
“In an environment in which chefs and restaurant operators understand the need to act urgently and decisively, we recognise the need for a holistic framework defining what ‘good’ looks like across both environmental and social issues,” says SRA managing director Juliane Caillouette Noble.
“Issues like food waste, treating staff fairly and animal welfare are universal. Now’s the moment for a global conversation about what it means to be a good restaurant in every sense, with a certification that is digestible for every business, supplier, owner and guest. We are setting the Standard by which a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Beijing or Birmingham can accurately compare its sustainability achievements and join the Food Made Good movement to build a better industry for our planet.”
SRA president Raymond Blanc adds: “The work The SRA is doing through globally standardising sustainability in our industry is not only inspired but essential. We, as restaurateurs and business operators, need to understand where we are today to work out where we’re going tomorrow.”
“By creating the tools needed to turn the individual’s commitment to sustainability into measurable, reportable action, the Standard is offering accountability and transparency, which are fundamental to the future of our livelihoods and indeed our lives.”
The SRA says it wants to sign up 100,000 restaurants by 2030 to transform what ‘we eat, how we eat and the impact this has on the wider world’.
Restaurants across the world are being invited to start their journey with the SRA at standard.foodmadegood.org.
