Discover the power of circular economy in restaurants

The circular economy in restaurants is a business model that, day after day, is gaining more strength around the world.

Although this concept is not new (and was not born in the world of catering), the sector is betting on it every day and strives to make it visible. In addition, individuals are increasingly looking favorably on companies that join in with proposals that are environmentally friendly and promote environmental conservation.

What is the circular economy and what is it for?

The circular economy is a concept created in 1990 as an alternative model to the linear economy. It promotes a vision of infinite interaction between the economy and the environment.

What does this mean? It is a model that seeks to promote an economy that – in all its productive processes – is responsible for the preservation of natural resources.

To this end, it promotes actions such as curbing consumerism, reducing the gap between the costs of acquiring products versus their repair and putting an end to the use of programmed obsolescence policies for electrical and intelligent equipment.

In addition to managing the exploitation of resources and energy, the aim is to promote the reduction of waste produced in the world.

More than implementing recycling as one of the methods of the circular economy, it also proposes a control and reduction of waste with its use for the production of new products.

In this way, the raw material of each waste would return to the production chain instead of occupying space in a landfill for thousands of years.

The circular economy also supports sciences such as biomimicry, a discipline that seeks new methods to generate products without wasting resources and energy, as well as finding new materials to solve problems.

Why circular economy is important in restaurants

The first thing we must be clear about is that the restaurant sector is not one of the most polluting in the world, but it does have a great influence on people.

This is one of the first reasons why it is advisable to apply the circular economy in your business.

On the other hand, you will have economic benefits, as a product of its two main proposals for the sector:

1. Zero waste in the various stages of production
2. Strategic production of raw materials, to ensure their preservation and maintenance over time.

In addition, the circular economy assigns favorable attributes to your brand, offering you an element that differentiates you from your competitors.

Circular economy: key objectives

Starting with the implementation of the circular economy in a restaurant consists of two main phases or actions .

These are zero waste and efficient management, two techniques that seek to improve the restaurant’s service and avoid losses that affect its income.

Zero waste

It is important to understand that every business that promotes the circular economy must have a plan to generate zero waste in the establishment. It is a kind of maxim in the sector.

One of the steps to comply with this is that restaurants and other businesses in the horeca sector, execute a good waste management, to make the most of each of the ingredients purchased from their suppliers.

This is achieved by discarding only the bones, fats, seeds and skins, or by using them as part of a recipe that is part of their menu.

To close this point, it is important to avoid throwing away prepared foods that have not been sold during the restaurant’s service. Fill them in containers and give them to your employees, collaborate with soup kitchens or homeless people.

Efficient management

Efficient management in a restaurant involves supervising each of the production phases of the establishment. That is to say, to make a thorough review of the production cycle of the business, from ordering ingredients from suppliers to the closing of the restaurant at the end of the working day.

In this way, it is possible to detect if there is any loss of income and how to solve it.

Some of these possible losses originate from poor food storage, a menu that does not generate profits or increased service costs.

what should I do to adopt the circular economy in restaurants?

There are several alternatives to implement the circular economy in restaurants, with the objective of preserving the level of attention to your customers.

You can start with a vegetable garden in your restaurant, where you produce some of the vegetables you use in the preparation of your recipes. Some ideal plants for these gardens are tomatoes, chili peppers or other plants that do not need large spaces.

It is also important to make use the engineering menu to structure the dishes that are part of your menu with cost-effective ingredients and portions.

Another idea is to keep track, minute by minute, of the availability of the ingredients or containers that are essential to carry out the service. In this way, you will not fail to serve some dishes due to lack of ingredients.

Likewise, you must have an efficient energy management to reduce energy costs and contribute to the care of the environment. Some examples to achieve this are turning off unused lights and using LED bulbs in the restaurant.

Learn more about other related terms in our Hospitality and Catering Dictionary.

Frequently Asked Questions