10 Sustainable Strategies for Going Greener
By Sara Perez Webber
There’s a growing appetite for sustainable events. Are you meeting the demand?
According to a recent report from Food for Climate League and Datassential, the foodservice industry research firm, 79 percent of consumers plan to eat more sustainably in the next year. That includes 33 percent who say they never eat sustainable foods but plan to start.
The study defined “sustainable” as foods that are “good for people,” supporting farmers, food workers and local communities; and “good for the planet,” reducing pollution, conserving natural resources and limiting greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Consumers’ growing desire for sustainable dining opens the door to exciting menu opportunities—by emphasizing plants as the main protein, for example, or focusing on sustainable aquatic foods such as clams, oysters and mussels. “Foodservice operators and culinarians really are the true change-makers, and we need to be engaged in these ways of cooking and eating in order to keep up with eater interests,” asserts Eve Turow-Paul, founder and executive director of Food for Climate League. “Lead with deliciousness, and sustainability will follow. We need to be creating meals that are delighting people that just happen to be more sustainable.”
Conservation-minded caterers are showing how it’s done—not only with sustainable menu items, but with environmentally friendly business practices. Steve Short, COO and chief culinary officer of Atlasta Catering in Phoenix, has operated a zero-landfill catering company for over a decade. “I’m a true believer that if you’re going to establish true sustainability, you have to start with landfill contribution,” says Short, who teaches sustainability courses at Arizona State University, one of his longtime catering clients.
New York-based Abigail Kirsch: A Culinary Collective calls its approach “conscious catering,” with a focus on responsible sourcing, food-waste reduction, sustainable seafood, biodegradable service ware, recycling and upcycling. “At the end of the day, catering should leave an impact on people, not the planet,” says Executive Chef Peter Mamadjanian. “By making sustainability an intrinsic part of what we do, we’re not just creating incredible food but shaping the future of the industry, one event at a time.”
Whether you’re just starting out on your sustainable journey or looking to become even greener, we’ve rounded up 10 strategies to follow to minimize your company’s impact on the environment.
1 | Establish Green Habits at Home and at Work
Caterers who’ve embraced sustainability in their personal lives often carry that commitment into the workplace. For example, Abigail Kirsch’s Mamadjanian has driven the same hybrid car for 14 years, and has outfitted his home with solar panels, a rainwater collection system and a composting setup. “Even my culinary inspiration comes from sustainable practices,” says Mamadjanian. “I collect cookbooks from libraries or purchase them secondhand, merging my love for food with my commitment to the planet.”
Atlasta Catering’s Short says it’s helpful to establish green habits in the catering kitchen even before they can be put into practice. Short advises caterers to train staff members to clean and sort anything that’s recyclable, even if your municipality doesn’t have advanced recycling capabilities. While the containers may all end up in the same place, “someday they won’t, and you’re driving a culture,” says Short. “Recyclables should always be cleaned and then sorted—that’s the first step to zero-landfill.”
2 | Understand Local Recycling Programs
If you’re aiming to reduce waste at your company, investigate what your options are, as recycling programs vary widely across the U.S. “The first step is understanding what your recycling companies are doing with the recycling and how they’re recycling, and what your waste haulers are doing with your waste and if you have opportunities for composting,” says Short.
3 | Measure Results
Once you know how and where you can recycle and compost, the next step is measuring your progress to see if you’re actually making a difference. At Atlasta, for example, what goes into the garbage is weighed and tallied weekly. “We are below 400 pounds a week,” says Short. “Based on our revenue—about $11 million a year—we are way below the threshold of the definition of zero-landfill.”
4 | Minimize Overproduction
Caterers face an especially tricky situation when it comes to sustainability. While it makes sense both financially and ecologically to only prepare as much food as will be consumed, that can be hard to anticipate.
“Every time a business provides food, it should try to predict how much will be needed so they don’t bring an outrageous surplus,” says Teralyn Pilgrim, author of No Scrap Left Behind: My Life Without Food Waste, published by Health Communications Inc. “However, it’s also true that events expect to have an abundance of food. It is more disastrous for a caterer to run out than it would be to waste money on bringing too much.”
Preventing food waste begins at the ordering stage, notes Short, by understanding your recipes so you’re not over-ordering.
“In our kitchen, it all starts with smart planning,” says Abigail Kirsch’s Mamadjanian. “We closely track our numbers to minimize overproduction, but in catering, excess food is sometimes inevitable.”
5 | Distribute Surplus Food
The solution to excess food at an event is “figuring out ahead of time where the surplus will go,” says Pilgrim.
Atlasta Catering follows a three-layer system for sustainably disposing of excess food. “The number-one thing that we do is we feed humans that are in need,” says Short. In fact, working with Phoenix-based Waste Not—which rescues perishable food and transports it to more than 85 nonprofit partners—Atlasta has donated 1 million-plus pounds of food over the past 13 years, which adds up to 600,000 meals.
Atlasta’s food scraps are sent to farms for animals to consume (as long as the animals aren’t being raised for slaughter), while other leftover food is donated to a local farm for composting.
Abigail Kirsch Catering also donates extra food. “Instead of wasting it, we donate as much as possible from our commissary kitchen and events,” says Mamadjanian. “Our team is encouraged to distribute surplus food to food banks and community organizations, ensuring it nourishes people rather than ending up in landfills.”
6 | Upcycle
Find ways to utilize ingredients that may otherwise have been wasted. Pilgrim’s book No Scrap Left Behind—which chronicles her family’s quest for a zero-food-waste kitchen—imparts such tips as cutting up fruit that’s about to expire and freezing it for smoothies; frying, crisping or baking potato peels; and eating broccoli stalks instead of chucking them.
At Abigail Kirsch, “vegetable trimmings are transformed into flavorful stocks, bread scraps become house-made breadcrumbs, and surplus produce is repurposed into preserves and sauces,” says Mamadjanian. “We celebrate and reward sustainability ‘hacks,’ keeping everyone engaged and thinking outside the box. For example, leftover arugula is dehydrated into a green garnish powder, and every part of a cauliflower finds a use—crowns in appetizers, stems and leaves in salads.”
The catering company repurposes its serving vessels as well. “Platters and unexpected kitchen tools are creatively incorporated into our events, and afterward, donated to local church sales,” says Mamadjanian.
7 | Utilize Earth-Friendly Packaging
Of course, how you serve your food is another indicator of sustainability. Abigail Kirsch has “revolutionized” its packaging, says Mamadjanian: “At events, our staff uses biodegradable containers to take home meals, reducing waste. When disposable serveware is necessary, we ensure it’s compostable or recyclable. Even the plastics we use are carefully chosen for recyclability, guaranteeing a longer life cycle.”
At Atlasta Catering, Short has eliminated as much plastic as possible, shifting to compostable bamboo-style vessels and utensils for drop-off catering. For other types of events, he says he’s “constantly driving people toward our reusables.” The company has invested in more reusable silverware as well as cups that can be reused hundreds of times. When utilizing reusable products, labor costs need to be factored into events, as more staffers are needed for collecting and washing.
8 | Source Locally
According to Datassential, 36 percent of consumers want to see locally sourced ingredients on menus—and nearly half of operators plan to feature such ingredients in the next year. “Local sourcing is a cornerstone of our sustainability efforts,” says Abigail Kirsch’s Mamadjanian. “By working with small farmers and regional suppliers, we bring the freshest, seasonal ingredients to our kitchens, cutting down on emissions from long-haul transportation. Plus, let’s face it—local food simply tastes better.”
Short points out it can be tougher for caterers to source locally because of the amounts often needed for large-scale catering. Some restaurants in Phoenix source free-range chicken from a local ranch, for example, but Atlasta Catering’s needs surpass what the ranch can provide.
One strategy is to expand the geographical scope for sourcing—and let customers know how you’re defining “local.”
“In Phoenix, we are close to the largest growing region in the entire world—the tip of the Salinas Valley into Yuma, Arizona, down to just south of the border,” says Short. “That’s where I get about 84 percent of all my produce, and I write my menus geared toward that—and I’m very transparent about it.”
9 | Propagate Plant-Based Menu Items
According to Datassential, there’s a growing demand for meals with less meat—24 percent of eaters want meals with less meat and animal proteins, while 16 percent prefer meals without any animal proteins or products. “Eaters are excited to be eating meals with less meat and animal proteins,” says Food for Climate League’s Turow-Paul. “It’s time to get creative.”
Caterers such as Abigail Kirsch are heeding the call. “Plant-forward dishes aren’t just eco-friendly; they’re an opportunity to craft bold, delicious and creative meals,” says Mamadjanian. “Our chefs rise to the challenge, making vegan and vegetarian options as exciting and satisfying as any meat dish. Thoughtful flavor and texture combinations mean no one misses the meat.”
10 | Guide Customers to Green Choices
In Fall 2022, the Food Climate League conducted a five-week trial with Sodexo at three universities’ dining halls. Plant-based dishes were presented as the default option, with signs alerting customers that meat-based dishes were available upon request. As a result, diners’ choice of the plant-based menu items increased 81.5 percent. Similarly, Atlasta Catering has come up with ways to ensure guests are disposing of their wares in an eco-friendly manner. If the company is catering at a facility with trash cans—“which we call ‘loss’ cans,” explains Short—they will be removed from the floor. Instead, the staff will set up jackstands covered in black linen. Signs will ask guests to dispose of items there, noting that they will be sorted responsibly, and thanking guests for supporting Atlasta’s zero-landfill initiative. The key is to gently guide guests rather than harangue them with excessive signage, advises Short: “It has to be done in a hospitality-driven way.”
