Wastage in the hospitality industry-costs to environment etc

“Sustainability is here to stay, or we may not be”
Niall Fitzgerald- Chairman of Brand Learning

Wastage in Hospitality

3.7% of all UK business are in the hospitality sector. This equates to 223,045 businesses, making up 10% of the UK total. During covid the sector was hugely affected with over half of traders closing during the lockdowns and 1 in 5 owners showing “low confidence” of survival after 3 months. This intense pressure put on the industry forced businesses to change their operations to save costs, draw customers and revive their business.

One common change that we have all experienced would be the implementation of technology. Most of us have been asked to scan a QR code or download an ordering app since the pandemic. This technology has been in place for years; however, its usage was greatly increased with the measures put in place by the UK government.

Many businesses see the benefit of this tech and have chosen to keep taking orders this way. This effect has not only saved time, but also had a positive impact on the environment. The average restaurant in the UK will print 9361 receipts per year and with 86,627 restaurants in the UK this equates to 811 million bills. This means 14,437 trees alone per year, the equivalent to 48 football pitches full of trees are levelled by bills alone. Having worked in an independent restaurant in Didsbury, Manchester, I know that bills aren’t the biggest contributor to paper wastage. The use of paper for writing orders, printing checklists, Food Safety Association (FSA) forms and more, means the UK restaurant industry levels much more than this.

Whilst working in the industry, I witnessed checklists given on endless sheets of paper with names or locations. The boss would merely ask us to refer to the sheet and never be able to track it. Often, he would ask the front of house staff to clean glasses, mop the floor and set tables. My boss would walk out to the front and see these incomplete or not done well enough. With a small number of staff, it would be easy to target the people not completing their jobs but in organisations with 5+ front of house staff, this could get confusing. This opens an opportunity for technology.

The industry has seen the introduction of EPOS systems over the last decade, and slowly this has become a necessity amongst owners. Reducing the use of paper on orders, is just the start to the paperless journey. The next step is checklists and documents. With multiple sides of paper used each day in the industry to track FSA tasks, it’s a clear opportunity for tech. Going paperless not only positively impacts the planet, but also makes it easier to store and organise these documents.

Sustainability in this world is growing, with more businesses adapting processes to save trees and energy and reduce waste, it’s time to speed up this process with technology.

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