VANCOUVER — Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF) and industry expert André LaRivière of The Next Course have partnered to create an online sustainability program for foodservice and hospitality professionals, as well as culinary and hospitality students.
Heralded as an industry first, the Sustainable Foodservice Professional (SFP) Certificate Program is designed to provide inspiring e-learning experiences on best practices in future-proof sustainability principles across all aspects of foodservice and hospitality operations and management.
“Basic sustainable policies and adaptable practices provide the kind of resilience essential for businesses and careers,” says Janine Windsor, president and founder of LEAF. “Working in the industry for the past 10 years, it became obvious to us that there was a gap between what people aspired to accomplish and what they were able to achieve. Often restaurant owners and leadership had the best intentions and plans for how to make their restaurant more sustainable, but frontline staff weren’t always equipped with the knowledge or skills to support that effort. Or, sometimes, leaders themselves would make poor sustainability decisions, not having the foundational knowledge to make good ones. We wanted to find a way to bring that foundational knowledge to the masses, in a convenient, inexpensive and accessible way.”
The SFP Level 1 course is available in two versions, the Professional Edition and Student Edition, each offers individual or group packages to suit the needs of an operation or campus. Designed for mobile learning, this course features experts and leaders in the culinary and sustainability industries and combines videos, quizzes and practical resources in bite-sized lessons, covering the essentials in five sections. Each explores a particular set of choices every operation must make, from menu concepts, sourcing products and equipping kitchens to staff policies and customer communications; and outlines the many opportunities to embed future-proof policies and solutions into those options.
“Even before these unprecedented times, our industry was facing the need for substantial change across the board,” says LaRivière. “And to implement that change, both professionals and students must update their toolkit to boost sustainability in our food systems and produce measurable, sustainable savings in reduced energy, water and waste. It’s mission-critical knowledge that will set professionals apart and help them rise to the top of the hiring pool in the future.”
More information about the new course is available at sfpcertificate.ca.
