The Sustainable Restaurant Association's Managing Director, Juliane Caillouette-Noble, explores why you should be sharing your sustainability work and how to do so in ways that will resonate with customers and staff.

Making real commitments to sustainability is the responsibility of any modern business — especially in the F&B sector, where our impact is significant and the potential for creating widescale change is huge. The good news is that, once you’re doing the work, sharing this with your customers (in the right ways) provides a valuable marketing opportunity and a means of connecting with people on issues that matter, with benefits like…

• Attracting more customers. Customers want to know that they’re spending their hard-earned money with a business that is doing good for both people and planet. In a large-scale global study of more than 23,000 consumers around the world, 50% of respondents reported that sustainability was one of their top four purchase criteria.
• Solving your staffing problem. With recruitment an ongoing issue, hospitality businesses can’t afford not to be creating credible sustainability communications. In one UK study, 94% of hospitality workers said that a company’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility is a significant factor when deciding where to work, and half have accepted one job over another partly because the company was more sustainable. Retention is also affected: 84% of hospitality professionals are more likely to stay in their job for longer if their employer has a positive environmental impact. 
• Leading the market towards a better future. The climate and biodiversity crises are at critical points and we need every industry to enact drastic, immediate change. Talking about your sustainability work won’t just benefit your own business, but can create a ripple effect, encouraging others to make positive changes of their own. For large companies and chains, there’s even bigger potential; they can leverage their influence to lead the market and provide new benchmarks for best practice.

So how can hospitality businesses talk about their sustainability work in the right ways?

• Take a long-term approach

This isn’t a short-term marketing campaign, but a long-term business strategy. Sustainability is a journey, not a destination; practices shouldn’t be abandoned once you see improvements in sales or brand reputation.

• Bring your customers with you

Put the customer at the centre of your communications. Your job is to demonstrate why your restaurant is the right choice for those who want to have a positive impact, and to explain what you’re doing to ensure this is the case. Where elaboration is needed, be clear and informative; for example, if you’re talking about how you’re reducing your carbon footprint, you might include a short explanation of why Scope 3 emissions are so important for the hospitality sector.

• Be honest, be open

To get the most out of your communications (and to avoid accusations of greenwashing), transparency and honesty are critical. Millennial and particularly Gen Z customers are cynical when it comes to business activity — the only way to bring them on board is to be unflinchingly honest. Set measurable targets, do the work and report on your progress.

• Be consistent

There’s no point in releasing a flurry of social posts, then going silent on the matter. While choosing the best channels and cadence for your communications will be an individual decision for each business, make sure the language and frequency of your messaging are consistent. This will help your customers to understand your core values and feel as though they can rely on your brand.

• Set targets, show progress

Setting clear, measurable targets is a central part of any sustainability strategy. These needn’t live exclusively within your in-house materials — sharing these targets and updating customers on your progress is a fantastic way of providing the transparency they crave.

• Choose the right methods and messages

Give some thought into the best channel(s) for sharing your work. Your website is best suited for deeper dives into policies, practices and progress, while social media is great for sharing when you’ve achieved particular milestones. Menus are an ideal place to highlight the provenance of your ingredients; you could also consider including environmental labelling, driving home the message that our food decisions affect the world around us.

• Get the team on board

Your front-of-house staff are your greatest ambassadors, so giving them the right training is important. Make sure they’re informed and up to date on your sustainability work so they can talk confidently and competently to customers, explaining what you’re doing and why it matters.

• Get certified

A credible third-party certification rooted in tangible, measurable, evidence-driven action is a fantastic way to showcase your sustainability work to your customers, staff, suppliers and stakeholders.

Interested in getting your own third-party sustainability certification — one developed especially for the nuances of hospitality? Learn about the Food Made Good Standard here, or drop Will an email with any questions at will@thesra.org.

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