FEATURE: COMMERCIAL KITCHENS
Nisbets’ 8 Tips to Make Your Commercial Kitchen Eco-Friendly
T
he commercial sector is Australasia’s biggest contributor to the overburdened landfill.But there’s no need to despair because here are numerous tips to move your commercial kitchen towards being more eco-friendly. 1. Waste management Be diligent with your waste management and disposal. Ensure you discard plastics and other harmful materials correctly and recycle where possible and reduce your waste as much as you can. On the same note, make sure chemicals, oils and hazardous items (such as batteries etc) are being disposed of properly, as per your local Council’s guidelines and using specific waste management bins. 2. Compost Since the commercial sector creates 2.2 billion tonnes of food waste each year in Australia and 1 billion in New Zealand, it’s a good idea to embrace ways that help decrease that. There’s no reason why a commercial kitchen can’t start to implement an organic compost or fertiliser system to help counteract food waste which creates eight per cent of greenhouse gases that are heating the planet. You can compost: • fruit and vegetables • coffee grounds • paper napkins • newspaper and • cardboard It can then be given or sold back to your organic food suppliers or local community gardens or schools. This might even inspire you to begin your own kitchen garden which has many benefits such fresh, sustainable produce that your consumers will absolutely love. And the American APA even purports that ‘compost can capture and destroy 99.6 per cent of industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in contaminated air.’ 3. Reduce One of the fundamental principles of working towards greater sustainability is reducing what you use and consume. Meticulously plan out your catering supplies and food requirements, keep
track of every item purchased and regularly review inventory and usage to ensure you aren’t needlessly over ordering and then having to end up throwing away food because it goes off or doesn’t get used. You may also consider using a digital inventory tool or resource can help you keep on top of what you have available and what you actually do need to order.
Additionally, by turning off unused powered items you could save more than $1200 a year. Utilising smart technology to help run kitchen equipment such as HVAC, refrigeration and lighting can also help you save money and the environment. Furthermore, by using solar power, you will not only be helping the environment but saving a lot on your power bill.
4. Cleaning products It’s crucial that a commercial kitchen adheres to the highest level of cleanliness and hygiene standards. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t swap out eco friendly cleaning supplies for harsher chemicals where possible. This is both better for the environment and employees.
8. Refrigeration One of the key items in any commercial kitchen are refrigerators and cool rooms. But they are also power hungry! ‘The average [cool room] unit energy consumption is around 18,800 kWh per annum and the potential energy waste is conservatively more than 25 per cent.‘ Replacing old and poor functioning 5. Product packaging gear and cleaning your kitchen You can adopt a two fold approach equipment is a surefire way to be when it comes to food packaging. more eco friendly and more efficient Firstly, where any food goes out to in your business. Likewise, keeping up consumers from your commercial preventative and regular maintenance, kitchen, ensure that you use replacing worn gaskets and seals and compostable or biodegradable checking fans and compressors will packaging wherever possible. help your kitchen equipment run better Similarly, you might be inclined to and use fewer resources. request your suppliers use eco friendly Equipment that is ten years or older packaging as much as they can to can also drain the power supplies deliver produce to you. significantly and by replacing these electrical items, you could “Meticulously 6. Water saving be saving money and energy plan out your Just like reducing the in the long run. amount of stuff that you Even starting with catering supplies and consume, being prudent one of these tips in your food requirements, about water usage is also kitchen will begin to make keep track of every key to a greener kitchen. a difference and they are Install water saving easier to implement than item purchased and toilets and taps and flow you may realise. n regularly review restrictors where it makes inventory” sense. Encourage new learned behaviours in staff, suppliers and patrons by encouraging everyone to turn off taps and offer inhouse filtered water above bottled water. Tip: don’t leave taps running when preparing or cooking food. 7. Power use On average, a HVAC system consumes approximately 28 per cent of a restaurant’s energy use. Being conservative with use, altering the thermostat by one or two degrees (but still complying with air quality requirements) will still make a huge difference. HOSPITALITY BUSINESS - APRIL 2020 21