...and make your Bar more sustainable

Sustainability is one of the biggest trends all over the world, and one of the biggest buzzwords in the hospitality industry. In this context, it is a holistic term that encompasses reducing waste and making sustainable choices on all levels of business activity.
There is no right and wrong choice for your business – sustainable choices should be your priority if they fit your concept and are economic in principle. While nowadays customers support sustainability more and it is easier to make sustainable choices, your primary focus should still be on the quality of your product.
For Tess Posthumus and Timo Janse of Flying Dutchman Cocktails and Dutch Courage sustainability is a way to be a part of the global cause. “All over the world, we try to be more aware of the environment,” Tess says. The way they do it is through an ongoing thought process about their flows. Reimagining the processes and searching for good alternatives does the job the best.
Going to a bar is a “wasteful” process – whatever you do, you still spend resources during a visit. It is also avoidable by nature – you can simply choose not to go there. So, as an owner, you have an obligation to deliver high-quality products and not serve waste to your customers.
Waste reduction is an integral part and instrument of sustainable conduct. Here’s where and how you can reduce the waste you produce:

Get Rid of Paper Napkins

Paper napkins can be used only once, which skyrockets your paper waste by kilograms. What can you do to avoid it? Use cork coasters, so you can reuse them multiple times. A coaster made of any other material you won’t have to replace for a while will work as well.

Eliminate All Plastic

Plastic is the least environmentally friendly material. As plastic straws are also designed for one-time use, you risk putting tons of plastic waste into the ocean by using them. According to Tess “we don’t use plastic straws anymore, but potato-based straws made from potato starch”. Any other biodegradable material would also work well. Another solution would be the opposite one – use an inert material for straws made for multiple uses, like bamboo and metal straws.

Be Mindful About Fruit Consumption

Ordering fruit in bulk and hoarding it will most likely result in them turning rotten and going to waste. What should you do? Tess’s advice is “whenever fruit is about to go bad, or not pretty for garnish anymore, we can use it by juicing it, or we turn it into a tincture, or syrup, or an infusion, or we create a cocktail of the week with it”.