Nearly 1 out of 10 workers in the US is employed by the food service industry, and almost half the dollars spent on food are for food service operations, according to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) 2010 Food Industry Forecast. In fact, food service comprises 4% of the US gross domestic product. From an economic perspective, it’s clear that business decisions made in food service yield power in sustainability.
Furthermore, consumers are increasingly looking to support businesses that think “green”. For example, 70% of consumers are more likely to patronize an eating establishment that offers locally produced food items, according to the NRA. As a major player in the US economy, the healthcare industry is also looking at green and eco-friendly practices. “Right now a growing number of hospitals are doing things such as eliminating mercury from their buildings, buying locally grown produce, and becoming more efficient at recycling,” according to Dr. John Whyte (Find a Green Hospital).
In hospital food service, cornerstones of sustainability include energy efficiency, waste management, construction & design, sustainable food sourcing, green cleaning products, and paperless food service.
Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency
In food service, major sources of energy consumption are:
35% Food preparation
28% HVAC
18% Sanitation13% Lighting
06% Refrigeration
This is according to Environmental Leader, which also states that 80% of the energy used in restaurants is wasted.
Tips from the National Restaurant Association
- Turning off lights and cooking hoods when not in use.
- Replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL light bulbs or LED lights.
- Unplug appliances when not in use.
Massive gas, electric, and water usage in food service make energy and water efficiencies paramount to a sustainable operation. Through its Energy Star program, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy offer specifications and designation for a broad range of food service equipment. You can find Energy Star rated products, calculate savings, and even locate rebate opportunities on the Energy Star website. Energy Star also provides case studies of real food service operations to help in creating strategies and tactics.
Construction
Construction & Design
Tips from the National Restaurant Association
- Fixing leaky faucets and toilets. Using energy curtains in freezer rooms.
- Remodeling or building green. This can encompass using low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) or no-VOC paints, and using construction materials such as recycled flooring and managed forest wood.
- Look for the ENERGY STAR label appliances and electronics.
Whether you are doing an original construction project or renovating a food service facility, consider aspects of construction that can build in energy efficiency, water efficiency, and environmental quality. Choice of renewable or recycled construction materials has an impact, too. Utilizing ‘green’ building principles can reduce operating costs by up to 9%, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The EPA provides extensive resources for healthcare organizations and food service on making green decisions. Building Healthy Hospitals focuses on selection of materials to reduce environmental impact. For help in making decisions that support sustainability, consider the services of a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certified architect/contractor.
Sourcing
Sustainable Food Sourcing
The IFMA Foundation Sustainability How-to-Guide Series lists criteria that may be included in sustainable food purchasing decisions: local, organic, seasonal, fair trade, cage free, hormone free, third-party certified, and food miles traveled. It identifies locally grown produce and fair trade coffee as “economical options,” considering consumer demand and logistics.
Advantages of sourcing fresh produce locally, according to the Guide, are:
- Support for the local economy
- Reduced delivery time and cost
- Reduced environmental impact (food miles) & vehicle emissions
- Reduced potential for food spoilage.
Incorporating local produce into menus requires versatility in menu updating. Menu management software is a crucial supportive tool in making revisions on the fly, and ensuring they ripple through purchasing, inventory, and food production systems effortlessly.
While analysts focus on environmental impact, another aspect of locally sourced food is food quality. The Culinary Trust, in its Overview of Sustainable Purchasing says, “Every time a customer delights in the freshness of your food, you are teaching the value of a sustainable food chain. No change is too small.”
The Local Harvest website serves as a directory of small farmers and farmers’ markets.
When choosing local produce, the IFMA Foundation emphasizes standard purchasing specifications, advising, “All growers, regardless of size, should follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and manufacturers should follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Check the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) audit verification program for compliance with GAP and GMP for fruits and vegetables.”
Waste
Waste Management
Last year Americans spent nearly $11 billion on over 8 billion gallons of bottled water, and then tossed over 22 billion empty plastic bottles in the trash, according to the Green Guide. Every year, 100 billion plastic bags are tossed out. These facts underscore the mantra of waste management for all industries: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
When it comes to take-out food packaging, the IFMA Foundation Guide points out, “Polystyrene products and waxed
Tips from the National Restaurant Association
- Reduce. Reuse. Recycle, i.e., Reduce waste. Reuse furniture, flooring. Recycle paper, plastics, glass and aluminum.
- Reduce water usage, which includes running dishwashers only when full.
cardboard are examples of products that should be avoided when better environmental choices are available. Examples of environmentally preferable products include, but are not limited to, products that contain recycled content (pre- and post-consumer content), contain renewable materials or are compostable.” Emerging technologies are beginning to provide eco-friendly packaging options for food service; see the interactive product guides under “Cleaning Products” below.
In one effort to reuse waste, food service operations are exploring discarded fryer oil, too, for reprocessing into biofuels.
Often overlooked, food itself is a major source of waste. According to the IFMA Foundation, “The quantity of food not consumed by the customer constitutes a large portion of waste in the food service environment. In fact, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), food waste is the number one least recycled material in the United States.”
Can your software help? Data collected in the hospital food service industry demonstrates that information-driven management solutions can reduce food waste through:
- Targeted food production (eliminate extra food)
- Just-in-time meal service (eliminate duplicate patient meal trays)
- Real-time ADT and diet order information (eliminate late trays).
Food waste reduction through food and nutrition services software is a critical element of waste reduction on hospital food service.
Cleaning
Cleaning Products
Tips from the National Restaurant Association
- Cleaning and maintaining food service equipment for efficient operation.
Cleaning products can have an impact on the health of people who use them, indoor air quality, and environmental toxins. Today, major companies are beginning to offer eco-friendly options. Two interactive sources of for green foodservice products on the Web are:
Paperless
Paperless Food Service & Patient Menus
Paper is ubiquitous in today’s businesses, and especially in a healthcare food service operation. From menus to purchase orders to receiving documents—not to mention food production sheets, checklists, and HACCP records—paper is as commonplace as food itself.
While paper sacrifices trees, it generates other costs as well.
More Resources
- Energy Star
- GreenBiz
- Green Restaurant Association
- Hospital Caterers Association Sustainability Guide
- IFMA Foundation Sustainability How-to-Guide Series
- National Geographic Green Guide – Food
- National Restaurant Association. Conserve – Solutions for Sustainability
- Sustainable Dictionary
- U.S. Green Building Council
Consider printer hardware and hardware maintenance, toner cartridges (and their effect on the environment), workflow and labor costs in handling paper documents, storage, filing, and disposal. According to GreenBiz, “Cutting out the costs of using 500,000 pieces of paper per year can save a company $515,000 per year—more than $1 saved per sheet conserved.”
How can food service technology help? Information accessible on paper is also accessible on computer screens and networked mobile devices. Consider these options, supported by Vision Software:
- Switch to paperless menus, supported by a call center, and/or bedside technologies, such as mobile menus for patient meal ordering.
- Use real-time, HL7-compliant interfaces to collect patient data, eliminating flow sheets and printouts.
- Maintain an electronic nutrition care record, including automated, paperless nutrition screening.
- Create forecasts and purchase orders on screen, transmitting electronically to selected vendors.
- Use the Inventory Control Assistant to track inventory records, eliminating clipboards and notebooks.
- Perform food service cost analysis functions on screen. Versatile reports are broadly available, so you don’t need to print everything.
- Use wireless sensor technology and mobile devices with built-in thermometer probes to collect HACCP data electronically, eliminating both paper and dry lab.
- Take advantage of point-of-sale integration with the Vision System to promote paperless retail transactions. For employees, consider cafeteria payment by payroll deduction, which has the added benefit of increasing retail revenues.
Hospital food service has the potential to be a major player in sustainability. With its role in the economy, its complex systems, and massive supplies, the industry holds many opportunities for protecting the earth for generations to come. Vision Software provides the technology to support healthcare food service leadership in sustainability initiatives.