TORONTO — A majority of restaurants and other foodservice businesses across Canada are citing environmental sustainability as playing a key role to their success.
According to a survey from Restaurants Canada, 82 per cent of respondents believe that environmental sustainability is moderately to very important to the success of their businesses, with 55-per-cent indicating it is important to very important.
“With consumers growing increasingly concerned over the environmental impacts of their dining habits, restaurateurs are likewise becoming more focused on the sustainability of their business operations,” says Chris Elliott, senior economist at Restaurants Canada. “These survey results indicate that Canada’s foodservice sector is mindful of how sustainability is becoming a necessity for profitability.”
The study also showed that 98 per cent of foodservice operators recycle, while 93-per-cent use energy- or water-saving equipment and 77-per-cent track, compost or donate leftover food.
Overall, 92 per cent of respondents plan to continue or improve their environmentally sustainable operations over the next three years. However, survey respondents also noted that the greatest barriers to improving the environmental sustainability of their business operations include the cost of implementing changes, the additional burden of training staff and the lack of availability of more environmentally friendly products.
