Green wallpaper with quirky crayon drawings of plants. Real indoor houseplants to purify the air. Organic, artisanal items on the menu, made from recycled paper. More restaurants are adopting such visible practices to drive home their eco-friendliness.

The need to become greener cannot be stated enough, considering the havoc that climate change is unleashing on the world. The restaurant business contributes a fair bit to the same, across categories like food supply chain, waste management, and employee or customer travel.

Given the circumstances, modern restaurants need to push the envelope of their recycled paper menu card a little further. Here are three edits that can make a stunning difference in improving your environmental footprint.

Practical Alternate Energy Solutions

One of the most thrown-around strategies for becoming greener is adopting renewable energy practices. Think solar-powered food processing appliances, wind-run ambient lighting. The loftiness of such ideas often relegates them to the backburner.

Instead, consider planning to embrace renewable energy options for a few achievable goals in your restaurant.

  • Use solar-powered outdoor lights. They get charged during the day, which makes them totally hassle-free to install and work with.
  • Use solar energy for your restaurant’s water heating system.
  • Commit to reducing existing energy usage through simple switches. Yes, CFL to LED bulbs and dimmers can make quite a difference.

Another strategy is to partner with a renewable energy group to make energy efficiency a core part of your company's fabric. For example, Wendy’s has partnered with Ampion Renewable Energy to reduce carbon emissions across its United States properties. This partnership will let the company source 30% to 100% of its energy through solar power without installing on-site panels.

Greener Heating Solutions for Cozy Winter Hangouts

Many restaurants come into their own in winter, benefiting from the holiday season and the desire many have to escape the dullness of grey skies. A research group investigating SAD (seasonal affective disorder) finds that venturing out can be a solid antidote. When you’re feeling the blues, meeting friends at a cozy cafe or diner can be just what the doctor ordered.

Keeping in line with this trend, many eateries incur hefty heating bills at this time. Why not schedule a preventive inspection of your HVAC system to rule out inefficiencies? Leaking refrigerant or dirty filters can raise your bills significantly.

Structural edits like installing thermal breaks can also be a good idea to minimize heat loss from your restaurant. These energy-efficient,
thermal bridging solutions keep heat from escaping out of your comfy dining space.

A professional can recommend the best insulation material for your needs. Fabreeka recommends polyurethane foam for its excellent resilience. It does not get damaged by harsh weather, which is getting more common across the US (thank you, climate change).

Here are additional ways to limit energy use in your restaurant:

  • Keep the thermostat at a comfortable temperature but avoid overheating. The US Department of Energy recommends setting it to around 68°F to 70°F during the daytime, lowering it at night.
  • Consider turning the heat down based on occupancy and dynamic weather conditions.

Employee Training Initiatives to Avoid Superficial Action

A common weakness in many eco-friendly business initiatives is low trickle-down through the workforce. Many plans remain limited to conference rooms, never reaching the ground-level worker. In the restaurant business, not involving the employees or supporting them through the proposed changes will lead to failure.

The best way to avoid this is to roll out employee training initiatives on:

  • Waste handling practices
  • Energy conservation focus while using appliances and lighting
  • Idea generation for sustainable menus that prioritize food circularity

Such training programs also have an additional benefit: increased employee engagement. When your team feels a sense of ownership and belonging, implementation of new approaches becomes much easier.

You will also benefit from this if you choose to use tech-based solutions for energy efficiency, such as sensor-driven ambient lighting and AI-powered procurement and waste tracking. A Sustainable Development study suggests that AI can have excellent opportunities for supply chain management and demand forecasting in the hospitality sector.

Tech solutions often encounter employee resistance. Motivated workers are more likely to become partners instead of protestors.

Restaurants remain a cherished place to connect with our social circles and sample different cuisines. They are also becoming popular among people who enjoy checking out new places, savoring each bite. The upcoming holiday season is likely to bring flocks of people to eateries, ready to revel and make merry.

As a restaurateur, it is the perfect time to build and showcase your commitment to eco-friendliness that goes deeper than optics.

You can start by making small changes, eventually involving your loyal patrons and other community groups to implement larger projects. Your shift to a more ecologically responsible establishment may just become the move that cements you as a conscientious innovator, and not just in food.