Helping foodservice plug into green energy

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Helping foodservice plug into green energy

A new energy toolkit to help hospitality businesses go green without going into the red has been published by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) and Britain’s greenest energy company, Ecotricity.

The practical, easy-to-use guide is designed to support operators to build a renewable energy policy that drives down their carbon footprint and provides the lowdown on making the switch to green energy, and a host of efficiency measures with practical tips to keep a cap on costs.

Your Guide to Going Green shines a light into the process, price and people involved in better energy use – which accounts for 4-6% of a restaurant’s daily operating costs – helping operators understand the energy market and to make informed choices that are good for business and the planet. It deciphers the intricacies of brown, green and ‘deep’ green energy tariffs – where bill money is used to build new sources of green energy.

Juliane Caillouette-Noble, Development Director at the SRA, said: “Restaurants and all foodservice businesses are hugely energy intensive environments. Switching to renewable energy and implementing a range of simple staff behaviour changes and efficiency measures is a great recipe for reducing that impact. That’s why we’ve partnered with Ecotricity to provide operators with the expertise to make the right decisions, right now about the energy they use and how they use it.”

By implementing the suggested behavioural changes and efficiencies, businesses could enjoy a 20% reduction in energy use – equivalent to a 5% increase in sales. And by switching from a brown tariff to a deep green one there are huge environmental gains. It takes more than 6,000 trees to absorb the 13,243 kg of C02 produced annually by a typical restaurant using brown energy.

Despite increasing year-on-year, only half of SRA members currently buy renewable energy and just 19% source 100% renewable electricity. “We believe this guide will help break down barriers to an industry-wide switch to greener, more efficient energy use,” added Caillouette-Noble.

To download a copy of Your Guide to Going Green click here