The carbon footprint in catering
What is a carbon footprint?
The carbon footprint is a tool for calculating the carbon footprint of a company or individual. This approach makes it possible to identify the organization's emissions by activity position, and therefore to take specific actions to effectively reduce the carbon footprint.
But what is a carbon footprint?
It is the total quantity of CO2 equivalent tonnes produced by a person, an activity or a good for a given period.
Why carry out a carbon assessment?
Being able to know the energy footprint of an activity makes it possible to identify strategic priorities to build a long-term vision. Doing your carbon assessment means becoming aware of the vulnerability of your organization in a world that aims for carbon neutrality, while evaluating our environmental impact. It is also a way of integrating your company into a more ethical and more sustainable approach.
The carbon footprint has other benefits for a restaurant. For example, it can be a distinctive element in the face of competition, especially as consumers are increasingly turning to sustainable food. It can also strengthen and give credibility to your positioning if you already consider yourself to be a sustainable and eco-responsible restaurant.
It is also a guarantee of trust, because carrying out a carbon footprint requires total transparency on the company's activity. Communicating about this approach also means proving that we have nothing to hide, and that we are seeking to improve.
Like many CSR initiatives, the carbon footprint also has financial advantages. It makes it possible to identify the most expensive energy items, and this is often also what costs the company the most. Reducing your energy costs also means saving money!
What do we analyze in a carbon footprint?
When we talk about carbon footprint, we often talk about “ SCOPE ”. In carbon accounting, a scope is simply a perimeter of analysis, and there are 3:
Scopes 1 and 2 are mandatory. 3 is optional, however, it is the one that allows you to identify the most levers for reducing the carbon footprint. For more details on the content of the scopes, go to the ADEME . For information, the GHG report is mandatory for companies with more than 500 employees .
Carrying out a carbon assessment means questioning yourself in relation to your activity, to seek to understand how to reduce your emissions in the most impactful way possible.
More than an individual reflection, it is sometimes the practices of entire sectors that must be called into question. Tourism, for example, is alone responsible for the emission of 118 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Catering is responsible for 6% of these emissions alone. Reducing GHG emissions from restaurants would therefore have a significant impact on the overall carbon footprint of tourism.
How to carry out a carbon assessment in your company?
As is often the case, you must follow a well-established process so as not to forget any step!
- To raise awareness ! Like many approaches linked to sustainable development, it is necessary that all the actors involved understand the final objective and the benefits brought by the carbon footprint. Very often, the actors who are made aware are also the most engaged in the process, thus finding more meaning in their work.
- Define a study perimeter . Above all, it is about deciding how far to push the balance sheet, while remaining relevant to the company's activity. However, it is necessary to take into consideration the organizational perimeter (definition of the company's sites and installations), and the operational perimeter (scopes 1, 2 and 3).
- Collect the data . This is often the longest step, and the one where you have to be as precise and thorough as possible. This collection must take into account all internal and external data relevant to the scopes defined by the company.
- Exploitation of the results. This is balance sheet analysis. Positions are ranked according to their level of dependence on fossil fuels.
- Establish an action plan. It means implementing an active approach to reducing GHGs in your activities. You should not hesitate to involve all your stakeholders in this process; collaboration often allows you to find innovative solutions! We often propose actions and objectives in the short term, and in the long term according to the priorities given to energy-intensive positions.
- Start the actions. In addition to actively putting them in place, it is necessary to communicate about them and ensure the continuity of the project. It is also necessary to ensure that the actions work and fit into the company's objectives.
And in catering, what would a carbon footprint look like?
Awareness :
It can be interesting to bring together your staff, but also your suppliers and other partners with whom you work regularly. The aim here is to inform people about the importance of measuring your carbon footprint, to try to limit your environmental impact. This is a time that can also be used to train stakeholders on eco-responsible actions to take at work.
The study scope:
Two options are possible: only achieve scope 1 and 2, or push further to obtain more significant results by choosing to go as far as scope 3. For restaurant chains, everything depends on the objectives. It is possible to carry out the assessment on an establishment, or on the entire chain, or even only on the company's headquarters. The choice of the study scope must be considered and reflect the real activity of the company. You should know that the wider the scope, the more actions can be taken.
Data collection:
There is a multitude of data that can be collected as part of a carbon assessment, it is therefore necessary to choose the most relevant according to the sector of activity. In catering, for example, we can collect data on:
- Energy consumption (electricity, gas, renewable energies, etc.).
- Journeys made by people working in the establishment (means of transport, distance, frequency).
- The carbon footprint of the products used in production (raw materials, but also packaging).
- The journeys made by the supplies (distance, means of transport).
- Waste management (waste typology, quantity, recovery or not).
- Water consumption.
- Cleaning products.
- Any other element you think is necessary to include in your carbon footprint, the list is exhaustive and specific to each establishment.
Use of the results:
- Raw materials: 80%
- Energy consumed by the restaurant: 10%
- Transport of goods: 5%
- Others (equipment, employee travel, treatment of waste produced): 5%
This data helps create a hierarchy for the future action plan. We must act as a priority on raw materials, then on energy for example.
Establish an action plan:
Raw materials are where you can reduce your GHG emissions the most. Some examples of possible actions:
- The carbon impact of foods varies significantly. It may therefore be interesting to think about your menu around foods whose production releases less carbon! This does not mean completely abandoning meat, the production of which releases more CO2, but simply reducing its consumption. You can also go to local producers to reduce the impact of the product and participate in the economy of your region.
- Eat local and in season! In addition to the positive impact on the economy, this makes it possible to reduce emissions linked to the transport of raw materials, but also to production which is often less polluting.
- Reduce your menu, to focus on a selection of quality products. The longer the card, the more likely the products will be wasted. A short card is also often considered a guarantee of quality by customers.
- Be creative in your cooking, and learn to use all the products at your disposal, even non-standard products that would otherwise be wasted.
- Optimize your orders and deliveries, to try to reduce transport, and scrounge up a few kilos of carbon equivalent per kilometer.
Pay attention to energy consumption!
A restaurant consumes a lot of energy, whether in the kitchen, to maintain inventory or to heat and cool the room. There are also several possible actions to reduce your energy costs, which in addition to being beneficial for the planet, is also beneficial for your wallet.
- Obtain renewable energy, or at least in part. You need to find out about your energy supplier and study all the options available to you to make the most sustainable choice possible.
- Experiment with different, less energy-intensive cooking techniques such as induction, glass-ceramic or electric hobs.
- Implement energy saving processes by analyzing peak and off-peak hours, and using low-consumption equipment. It is also advisable to unplug electrical appliances when not in use, to avoid passive energy consumption.
- Use water savers, which can reduce flow by up to 70%. It is also interesting to install motion sensor faucets in the toilets to prevent them from remaining open for too long.
- Use a smart thermostat to only heat when really needed.
- Pay attention to the layout of your kitchen, particularly for appliances that use ventilation to cool. Without space to ventilate properly, the device consumes more!
...and waste management
Waste management is a key part of reducing your carbon footprint. We must first identify what types of waste are produced, and in what quantity.
There are 4 main types of waste in a restaurant:
- food waste;
- packaging and packaging (also including paper towels);
- used oils;
- residues from grease traps;
Once the waste has been identified, we must first seek to reduce it at the source. To do this, it may be interesting to carry out a more in-depth analysis of your waste in order to understand which levers to activate to reduce upstream.
Some actions to reduce your carbon footprint linked to waste.
- Look for “naked” products, that is to say sold without packaging or with as little packaging as possible. It's particularly easy for fruits and vegetables, for example.
- Recycle and compost whenever possible. There are many solutions for setting up compost, via companies or associations supporting you.
- Offer donations to food aid associations for unsold items that can still be consumed. We can also turn to anti-waste applications.
- Glass bottles are being recycled better and better! You may also prefer a deposit system which requires a little more logistics.
There are obviously dozens of other levers to reduce your carbon footprint and become more responsible in your activity. It's up to everyone to find what best suits their teams and the type of catering offered . CSR and carbon footprint professionals can also support you throughout the carbon footprint process.
There are also platforms that allow you to evaluate and track the evolution of your restaurant's carbon footprint. For example, Klimato allows restaurateurs to calculate the impact of their dishes, to monitor their emissions, and to guide their customers in the selection of low-carbon meals thanks to their labels.
It is now up to you to implement these actions within your establishments! You should not hesitate to communicate and meet regularly with your teams to review the action plan.
You have to know how to be flexible on certain aspects, without losing sight of the final objective: reducing the environmental impact of your restaurant by preparing it for the future.
Sources: A deme ; Greenly.earth ; Youmatter ; Hr-info ; The fork ; Lightspeedhg ; Restoration 21 ; Eco2initiative ; Pandobac .
FOR A BETTER FUTURE
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