Making sustainably conscious choices in your food & drink business

Sustainability in food & drink businesses is an important part of operating a business.

We joined The Midlands Hospitality Network for a discussion on sustainability which featured experts from across the sector including Sarah Newton (Birmingham Food System Strategy), Geetie Singh-Watson (The Bull Inn, Totnes), Jayne Bradley-Ghosh (Slow Food Movement Birmingham), and Aileen Williamson (Green Key Inspector).

A truly sustainable business goes beyond buzzwords, making conscious choices that reduce environmental impact, support ethical suppliers, and strengthen local communities. It prioritises transparency, avoids greenwashing, and focuses on thoughtful procurement – from using green energy to partnering with B Corps and social enterprises.

Sustainability isn’t about perfection or expensive overhauls; it’s about small, consistent actions – like sourcing local, seasonal produce, reducing food waste, or switching to recycled packaging – creating meaningful change.

The discussion included lots of practical advice that you can incorporate into your business. We have collated a few top tips that can help make your business more sustainability friendly.

Top tips:

• Have a unified vision for sustainability across your business
• Invest in your team’s knowledge, give your employees purpose by making them part of making your vision happen
• Tell your customers about your sustainability values and how you have integrated the in your business – your story and your values are powerful marketing tools
• Buy quality products that are tough and long lasting such as Duralex glass because recycled glass isn’t as durable
• Be motivated by legislation such as the ‘glass tax’ to plan for change in advance
• Buy seasonal and be flexible with your menus
• Diversify your ingredients
• Speak to your suppliers and ask them about their sustainability credentials
• Be transparent with your customers
• Look at switching to a green energy supplier
• Be honest in your approach. Sustainability costs more for your business, tell the story of where produce/equipment is coming from to customers
• Make sure you’re being seasonal and that you diversify your ingredients more

Useful organisations & information:

The Food Foundation 

The Full of Beans campaign 

Member deals

BioPak – Receive 10% cashback and a 10% exclusive discount on your packaging

EIC – NCASS members are entitled to FREE Energy Health Checks and FREE Consultation from EIC, among other invaluable services to unlock energy savings.

Talk to us

If you have examples of practical action other members and the wider sector can take to improve their sustainability credentials we would love to speak to you – we are currently gathering information and case studies to create a sustainability hub for members. Email [email protected] with your experiences.