Drinking Sustainably

WHAT’S DRIVING IT?

Drinking Sustainably is a far-reaching mandate that extends from the guest enjoying the drink you’ve just mixed for them all the way to where and how the spirit & ingredients in that drink were made.

So what is influencing and driving this mandate of Drinking Sustainably in the Food & Beverage industry?

• The Supply Chain
  
  
• Consumer Pressure
  
  
• Investor Pressure
  
  
• Financial

HOW TO DRINK SUSTAINABLY

What steps can we take to act upon drinking sustainably?

• Be a discerning drinker/buyer
  
  
• Look for apple products
  
  
• Packaging Awareness
  
  
• Buy local where possible
  
  
• Diversify Garnishes

INNOVATORS

Every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food around the world is wasted. 40% of fruits and vegetables grown in the UK go to waste. The hospitality, food & beverage industry contribute greatly to this figure, in addition to waste from packaging.

It takes innovators to push sustainably-minded ideas to the front of these conversations and showcase practices that can help reduce our share of global waste.

• DASH – a sparkling water company who use unwanted wonky fruits to infuse and flavour their water.

 

• Toast Ale – use discarded bread loaf waste to replace a third of the barley usually used to brew beer.

 

• EcoSPIRITS – the world's first low carbon, low waste spirits distribution technology.

 

• Seven Brothers Brewers – this brewery makes use of rejected Kelloggs’ cereals (Coco Pops, Rice Crispy Corn Flakes) to make a range of upcycled beers.

THE CHALLENGES

Increasing concerns around climate change are increasing the pressure on producers to improve their sustainable practices and green impact – while some positive news is that 55% of F&B business leaders report increased investment in environmental sustainability, there are many areas in need to fast and effective improvement.

Environmental issues typically headline sustainability agendas, but there are other issues to be considered and addressed which come under this umbrella:

• Reducing waste
  
  
• Cutting pollution and emissions
  
  
• Minimising impact on the environment
  
  
• Improving employee safety and health
  
  
• Lowering energy and water consumption
  
  
• Advance diversity in hiring
  
  
• Promoting a greater range of healthy products

WHAT IS GREENWASHING?

Greenwashing refers to claims by companies and brands of being environmentally conscious for marketing purposes, but without actually having notable sustainable efforts.

It can also refer to misleading practices whereby one element of a company or product is sustainable, but a far more impactful area is glossed over or not mentioned at all.

The danger of greenwashing is that it leads consumers, suppliers and operators to believe that the environmental threat of issues such as  climate change are not as severe or current as they are.