PRÁCTICA EDUCATIVA

Research on sustainability and foodservice has generally approached the subject from one of two perspectives—looking at the topic from an operations and management perspective, or from the perspective of the consumer. This section centers on the research that has been done regarding sustainability practices in foodservice from an operations and management perspective.

Much of the hospitality research looking at sustainability in operations and management takes place outside of the United States. However, both the methods used and the findings vary considerably. For example, Poulston and Yiu (2011) used a qualitative method to look at costs versus benefits in the service of organic food in a restaurant setting in New Zealand. They found that there was some misunderstanding amongst the restaurateurs as to the benefits of using organic food and the value that is associated with its higher premium. Iaquinto (2014) also used qualitative methods to

author interviewed 29 restaurateurs from casual restaurants, and found that less than half implemented any type of sustainable practice into their operations. Only a handful of restaurants had begun to engage in sustainability efforts, mostly citing expense and lack of knowledge as the greatest barrier to engagement.

Kasim and Ismail (2012) found similar results in Malaysia, where the adoption of sustainability practices into restaurant operations was weak. Though aware of

environmental issues, restaurant managers were reluctant to implement sustainability practices, citing that lack of consumer demand and an insufficient supply-chain would prevent any potential of success. Cavagnaro and Gehrels (2009) took a case study approach to explore the processes that accompany the implementation of sustainability practices into a hospitality operation in the Netherlands. Using a qualitative method, the authors found that getting sustainability into a restaurant’s operations was more

challenging than expected. Sourcing local and organic ingredients was the greatest challenge to the operators, and overall awareness of sustainability initiatives was quite low. The value of this research stream is that it provides a snapshot on how sustainability is or is not being integrated into operations across the globe, and how restaurateurs and foodservice companies are dealing with the adoption and implementation of sustainability into their operations.

Other research has sought to explore the perspective of restaurant managers, and their willingness to adopt green practices. Choi and Parsa (2006) looked at how managers perceived green restaurant practices and their willingness to pass the costs along to the consumers. It was concluded that managers perceived restaurant green practices in a favorable light, but were hesitant when it came to charging consumers more for the

practices. Surprisingly, within the hospitality academic literature, this is really one of the only studies that investigated implementing sustainability into restaurant operations from a management perspective in the United States. Choi and Parsa’s (2006) study adds value in that it is so unique and provides an important first step from which future research can grow. With the importance of adopting sustainability practices into restaurant operations established, research will continue to aid operators in developing implementation

strategies, by assessing the perspectives of management and identifying the drivers and barriers of sustainable foodservice practices.

Given the fact that restaurants and foodservice operations generate a tremendous amount of waste (Hall, Guo, Dore, & Chow, 2009), resource and environmental

management strategies have also become an integral part to sustainability research in foodservice operations. Part of the initial research was meant to understand how much waste is produced from a single foodservice operation, and attempt to set benchmarks for the industry. Sarjahani et al. (2009) looked at a large-scale university foodservice

operation and found there to be a considerable amount of pre-consumer waste, or the waste that is generated from food production and preparation prior to serving it to the consumer. Pre-consumer included kitchen scraps; expired, excess, or contaminated foods; and packing materials. They also found a substantial amount of post-consumer waste associated with the service of food as well. Post-consumer waste, or waste generated by consumer usage, included plate-waste, or the uneaten food on the plate, disposable service-ware like paper and plastic utensils, plates, cups, napkins and the accompanying packaging. Post-consumer waste alone yielded approximately 2 tons of waste per week (Sarjahani et al., 2009).

Some research has tried to establish measurement standards and guidelines for sustainable restaurant practices. For example, Moreo, Demicco, and Xion (2009) attempted to develop a sustainability scorecard to measure various elements of

environmental sustainability within a foodservice operation. Using previous research on resource management, a scale was created to score varying aspects of sustainability, such as water and energy usage, as well as materials used in the build and design of the

building. Baldwin, Wilberfore, and Kapur (2011) attempted to develop a sustainability standard for foodservice establishments, as did Peregrin (2011), who gave the American Dietetic Association’s position on best practices for sustainability in hospitality

operations. From the industry side, there are different certification agencies, like the Green Restaurant Association (2015), which gives its own criteria for establishing a sustainable restaurant.

The types of sustainable or green restaurant practices vary considerably and can depend on multiple factors, such as the size of an organization, its geographic location, or the availability of financial funds for capital investment. For example, Maloni and Brown (2006) demonstrated how sustainability initiatives could run through the food supply- chain from product sourcing to distribution, where Sloan et al. (2013) discussed what sustainability meant to the hospitality and tourism fields specifically. Harmon and Gerald (2007) and Peregrin (2011), both of the American Dietetic Association, specified

multiple sustainable practices that foodservice providers could implement, ranging from the sourcing of local, organic, fair trade and non-genetically modified organisms (GMO) products, to the conservation of energy and water, the use of efficient equipment,

initiatives and practices included water conservation, recycling, composting, and the use of non-toxic or eco-friendly cleaning products and packaging (Peregrin, 2011).

Research on sustainability in foodservice has also approached the topic from a consumer perspective, looking at issues ranging from consumers’ willingness to pay more for sustainable products and practices to how consumers’ attitudes and perceptions vary by restaurant type. The following section discusses the research done in the area of sustainability in foodservice with regards to consumers’ perceptions and behavioral intentions regarding green practices in restaurants.