University of Brighton helps restaurant owners stay sustainable

Restaurant owners in Brighton will be able to measure how well they’re performing on a range of sustainability measures thanks to a new toolkit developed by the University of Brighton in partnership with Restaurants Brighton.

The UK’s restaurant sector faces significant challenges around its use of resources and the waste it generates.

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a charity working with businesses and communities, estimates that the UK hospitality and food sector throws away more than a million tonnes of food alone each year, costing companies around £3.2 billion.

But the team from the University of Brighton and Restaurants Brighton notes that while the city’s restaurateurs understand how critical it is to improve the sustainability of their operations and supply chains, they found it difficult to assess their current performance and identify examples of best practice to emulate.

So, to help restaurant owners, staff and suppliers tackle the issue, they’ve created a sustainability toolkit to assess and improve environmental and social sustainability practices.  

The toolkit features a checklist which encourages restaurant owners to consider their current practices around water consumption, energy use, food waste and sourcing, environmentally sustainable materials, and social sustainability in relation to employees, suppliers and their communities.

It also includes case studies of restaurants in Brighton and Hove already tackling some of these issues.

For example, the owners of local sushi restaurant MOSHIMO share how they’ve prevented 1,860,000 litres of water from being poured down the drain and saved £115,000 in the process. 

The University of Brighton team comprised Dr Adam Jones, Dr Francisca Farache Aureliano Da Silva and Dr Julian Riano from the School of Business and Law.

Dr Jones, a principal lecturer and director of the university’s Help to Grow business leadership programme, led the effort.

“The partnership with Restaurants Brighton has grown from strength to strength – from an initial focus group to map out the sustainability opportunities for restaurants, cafés and bars in the Brighton and Hove area to the development and pilot of a sustainability toolkit,” he said.

“Together, we wanted to help the sector on their sustainable journey in a practical way to support our city’s net zero aspirations.

“It’s been fantastic working with the Restaurants Brighton team.

“Through our partnership, we’ve shone a light on some amazing and inspiring sustainable practice being carried out by our local hospitality providers.

“We’ve also engaged with stakeholders from the wider community to critique and contribute to our work, including activists and local councillors.”

Ivanka Majic from Restaurants Brighton said: “As a small business, we’d never have been bold enough to use our platform and network for a project that matters so much to us without the support of the University of Brighton and their research expertise in this area.

“By collaborating, we’ve become much more than the sum of our skills."

Cllr Ty Goddard added: “As part of this project, discussions with local businesses are vital.

“Hearing ideas, what really works, and then acting on them is key.

“Working with the hospitality sector at events like the sustainability roundtable gives us a model for the future.

“I believe that the sustainability toolkit will provide valuable insights for local policy development, economic growth and our city’s carbon neutral aspirations.

“Practical ideas are the way to go.”

Any hospitality businesses in Brighton and Hove keen to be involved can get in contact at [email protected]