Being sustainable requires a holistic view of life. The goal is to organize our lives and endeavours so that we can meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It means acting in balance with the planet, the people and profit. Food production is one of the greatest causes of environmental degradation throughout the world, not to mention the related social

issues such as employer rights and safety. Everyone dealing with large quantities of food in their daily work has the responsibility and the power to change things

through their decisions. By choosing your suppliers carefully, designing sustainable dishes, and making plans for waste-prevention you can be a sustainability pioneer in

your own field. This info pamphlet has been created to help you in this journey. Enjoy the ride!

PRODUCTIONWhere do your materials come from? In what conditions have

they been produced in? Are the production methods

sustainable? Do all the workers get fair payment and benefits? These are the questions a good caterer must have an answer to.

Make it your mission to know your value chain inside out.

PLANNINGPlanning is the key to sustainable and viable business. With careful

planning, you can optimize your profits, minimize your food wastage and

mastermind the whole life-cycle of your products.

DISTRIBUTIONTransportation makes

considerable part of the carbon-footprint of a product Favoring local

materials helps the local economy and

is more sustainable.

PACKAGINGYou probably have heard of the islands of plastic floating in the

oceans? It exists mostly because of our packaging culture. Make sure all your packaging materials are

reusable or at least easy to recycle. How are your raw materials packed

when are they delivered to you? How do you pack your products?

Reuse, reduce and recycle!

PREPARING & COOKING

What kind of energy are you using? Could you switch to solar energy or

other renewable energy source? Do you know the energy

consumption of your freezers? Optimizing the cooking time prevents energy wastage on

constantly reheating the food.

RAW MATERIALSWhere does your incredients

come from? The quality of your raw materials determines the success of your catering. Be aware of the impacts of your

choices, and favor local, organic and seasonal goods.

DISPOSALThe most sustainable food is the

unwasted one. Do you have solutions for pre-consumer food waste? Is there a complete recycling system for post-

consumer food waste? To prevent waste going to the landfills, careful and

thorough waste management plan is definitely crucial.

Mandatory Requirements

The restaurant has the information about the country of origin of the main ingredients, so that customers can obtain this information.

No beef or fish from the WWF’s red list included in any dish.

No genetically modified (GMO) ingredients in any dish.

At least one of the main ingredients should be organic and seasonal.

Point System min. 12 p, max 22 p

1. 50% or more of ingredients are organic +3

2. 30% of ingredients organic +2

3. 10% of ingredients organic +1

4. 50% or more of ingredients regionally produced +3

5. 30% ingredients regionally produced +2

6. 10% ingredients regionally produced (Regional means produced within 500 km) +1

7. 50% or more ingredients seasonal +2

8. 10% ingredients seasonal (A seasonal ingredient is naturally produced at the current time of the year) +1

9. Using beef or fish from the WWF red list -1

10. Deep fried food/too much salt/too much sugar -1

11. Completely vegetarian menu +2

12. Completely vegan menu +3

13. One Fairtrade ingredient +1

14. More than one Fairtrade ingredient +2

15. Induction or low-radiation hotplate stove +1

16. Completely raw dish +1

17. All cutleries and dinnerware are reusable, recyclable or compostable e.g. paper, cardboard or wood +1

18. PVC used in packaging materials -1

19. Use of ecolabelled items +1

20. Different portion size options +1

21. Comprehensive waste recycling systems (biowaste, energy waste, glass waste, metal waste etc.) +1

22. Plan for pre-consumer food waste (biowaste not included, charity etc other plan) +2

Result points

Now, let’s get to work! Here is a calculation sheet to assess the sustainability of one meal according to the themes introduced earlier.

SERVING & DININGServe your food with reusable, recyclable or compostable dinnerware. Think again if the energy use while dining is necessary. Take

the chance to educate your customers because this is the only moment that

gives you direct connection with them throughout the entire catering life cycle.

ORGANICOrganic farming is considered to be the most environmentally friendly farming method in terms of ecological sustainability. Not only does organic food reduce toxic pesticide contamination of the nature but it also ensures toxic free meals for the consumers. Offering organic food allows ingredient sourcing with the least damage caused to the environment and simultaneously guarantees nutrition and healthiness. Be the trend leader, for a better world and amaze your customers with well-selected organic food.

SEASONAL & LOCALLocal and seasonal ingredients, as any caterer knows, equal to the freshest and the tastiest flavors. More than that, local and seasonal foods also consume less energy and produce less greenhouse gas emissions during the entire life cycle of the production. Your choice to choose local ingredients is also the choice to support local entrepreneurs and farmers. Besides, seasons ingredients provide not only freshness but also valuable nutrition with cheaper price. For a sustainable caterer, using local and seasonal food is a must!

WASTE PREVENTIONWasted food and ingredients are the most unsustainable things in the catering business. When food is wasted, so is all the energy it took to grow, produce, transport and make it. The key to preventing pre-consumer waste is careful planning: knowing the quantities needes and planning of the menu. Offering consumers different portion sizes help them to pick the one they can handle. Selling goods ar a slashed price just before closing time is a good way to make use of extra food. Giving the leftovers to charity is a great option as well. Comprehensive recycling systems are the cornerstones of a sustainable catering business.

ENERGYWISEThe costs of energy consumption in catering operations are considerable. Catering equipment is often switched on at the beginning of a shift and left running throughout the day. Some simple changes to the working practices can help save energy: Switching off appliances and lights when not in use and setting a target to reduce energy bills are practices easy to start with. Choosing renewable energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. assessing the whole life cycle of the production and services regarding energy use is vital.

VEGETARIANScientists estimate that the production of livestock is the biggest single human activity impacting the planet. Beef production is by far the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to other meat, such as pork or chicken. Did you know, that producing one kilogram of beef requires 15 500 litres of water? Or that it’s carbon-footprint is over 13 times bigger than that of eggs? Putting emphasis on the vegetarian options in your menu is not only climate-friendly, but also health promoting and trendsetting.

ETHICALAn ethical caterer will make sure that no human rights violations occur at any stage of the value chain of materials used in the catering business. No human being should be taking unreasonable risks or making salaries under living wage for the sake of us having food on the plate. Choosing Fair Trade options and simply doing some background checks on suppliers are good ways to start. Buying from small farmers supports them in competing against giant multinational food companies

PACKAGINGWhen it comes to sustainable packaging, the phrase ”reuse, reduce and recycle” is the best advice. Minimizing the need for packaging in the first place is the ultimate goal. Make sure all your packaging materials are reusable or at least easy to recycle. For serving food prefer china or other reusable choices. If your serving take-away, prefer compostable packaging. Sustainable packaging is being developed all the time, keep your eyes open for future opportunities like edible packaging. Also be sure to communicate about recyclable packaging to the consumers

BANNING UNSUSTAINABLE MATERIALSSadly, some ingredients are very unsustainable to begin with. Most meat products have high carbon footprints. Beef is by far the most unsustainable option of meat. Some commonly used ingredients like tuna are at the brink of extinction due to overfishing. A sustainable caterer bans these ingredients altogether from their menu, and replaces them with something better, like chicken, sustainable fish or in the best case vegetables and / or vegetable based protein.

HEALTHYPreparing healthy food starts with choosing high quality ingredients and the preparation methods. A Healthy meal contains variety of ingredients from the different food groups and has a right balance of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Favor vegetables, (especially ones that are dark green or orange), fresh fruits, whole grains (like barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa, or wild rice), lower-fat milk and milk alternatives like fortified soy beverages, sustainable fish, lean meat (skin removed and fat trimmed), meat alternatives (beans, lentils, seitan or tofu). Limit the foods and drinks that are highly processed and contain empty calories, added fat, sugar, or sodium.

SEASONAL FOODAUGUST

Check your

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MEAL SHEETASSESSING

VEGGIES & FRUITCucumber

PeasCelery rootCabbageZucchini

CauliflowerBroccoliLeeksOnionLettuceTomato BeansPepperApplePearPlum

BERRIESBlackcurrantRed currantGooseberryCloudberryBlueberryCranberry RaspberryCherry

ROOT VEGETABLESSwedeTurnipParsnipsPotatoCarrotBeetroot

MUSHROOMSRussulaCep

Boletus Fabric porciniChanterelle

Black trumpet mushroomCops

Milk capsMatsutake

FISHFlounder Vendace CrayfishPowan

Lamprey

Curated and designed by Pia Sissala,

Saara Jolkkonen, Tsui–Fan Tseng

Mirka Kolehmainen and Elina Voipio in

Aalto University, 2014

MEALSUSTAINABLE THE ROADMAP TO SUSTAINABLE CATERING

Your Guide to a

THE ROADMAP TO SUSTAINABLE CATERING

SUSTAINABLE MEALS

THE ROADMAP TO SUSTAINABLE CATERING

MEALSUSTAINABLEThe Sustainable