Food and its environmental footprint

Many Finnish restaurants and hotels have been awarded the Swan Nordic ecolabel introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The label indicates a good environmental choice, a value increasingly emphasised in professional kitchens.

“I believe that restaurant menus of the future will show information about the environmental footprint of the dishes,” said Mia Tarhanen, lecturer at the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, speaking at the Gastro 2008 fair for the hotel, restaurant and catering trade held in Helsinki on 12–14th March.

Environmental trends

In Britain, consumers can already buy crisps (potato chips) carrying information about the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from their manufacture, and Ms Tarhanen suggests that something similar will happen in Finland, too. Restaurants should for instance contemplate using disposable menus, and hotels could consider the impact of their appliances that run through the night. The way chemicals are used in kitchens should also be examined and employees encouraged to run dishwashers with a full load.

Sustainable resources

Ms Tarhanen encourages workplaces to use a carrot and stick approach in a competitive spirit and with a touch of humour. Practical issues might include whether it makes sense to have employees stuck in traffic jams on their way to work in separate cars coming from the same direction.

The implications of climate change can already be seen in the Food Service sector, where product and service pricing will change as emissions goals are tightened. Entrepreneurs in Finland may suffer direct effects from global warming due, for instance, to shorter periods of winter snows.

Small steps pay significant ecological dividends

“Waste management is a key area where environmental action can be taken in professional kitchens,” stated Rita Pulli, Managing Director of kitchen design specialist Suurkeittiö-Insinööritoimisto Rita Pulli Oy, at the Gastro fair. A lack of space often makes waste management difficult, she acknowledges, so kitchens should be designed ecologically from the outset – it’s harder to remodel and for instance knock down walls afterwards.

Eco-efficient appliances that address water and energy use may be more costly than ordinary equipment but can create real savings over time. Water and electricity consumption meters are a useful evaluation tool and for instance energy saving lamps are a small but effective choice.

Small steps bring big benefits. Ms Pulli explains that, for example, cold storage room doors with windows don’t need to be opened so often. Modern heat recovery technology can be applied. In terms of efficiency, a rack conveyor dishwasher consumes less water and detergent than its pass-through counterpart.

Source: Finfood news

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