99% of hospitality staff want to work for sustainable businesses

10-Mar-2022 - Last updated on 19-Apr-2022 at 15:15 GMT

Cutting costs: Hospitality businesses can reduce waste by prolonging equipment life (Getty/ Kathrin Ziegler)

Ways in which hospitality businesses can cut costs and reduce waste by prolonging the life of their commercial catering equipment have been revealed by a new report from BRITA Professional.

The report, titled Made to Matter- Uncovering the changing perceptions of machine longevity, established food waste a key environmental concern for the sector, with 99% of hospitality professionals claiming it was important for them to work for an organisation with sustainable values.

Furthermore, two thirds of hospitality businesses agreed a throwaway culture has had an impact on how long they expect equipment to last, with 90% agreeing the breakdown of essential equipment would have a detrimental effect on the operation of their organisation.

Cost saving benefits

What’s more, more than 80% (84%) of participants agreed they could be doing more to increase the longevity of equipment.

According to BRITA Professional head of sales Steve Buckmaster, more than a third (36%) of businesses said cost savings were a key benefit of extending the lifespan of their equipment.

Buckmaster claimed one of the easiest ways to do this, while maintaining equipment warranty, is by having the right water filter installed. “This is something more than 90% of operators understand the importance of, yet only 60% adhere to,” he added.

One third of businesses expected their machines to last three-to-four years, compared to 28% of hot beverage equipment such as coffee machines, the report also revealed.

Longer lifespan

With breakdowns accounting for nearly half (47%) of new equipment purchases made by hospitality businesses, and reliability issues also cited as a major factor for 28% of machine replacements, BRITA Professional is urging the industry to adopt a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach.

Rather than replacing faulty machines, the report suggested businesses should be focusing on prolonging the lifespan of their equipment by carrying out essential preventative maintenance.

Buckmaster continued: “Businesses should also ensure their equipment undergoes regular inspections and servicing, and investment in training is essential so that team members know how to fix and maintain machines during service to avoid downtime.

“This isn’t just important from a cost-saving perspective, but can also help businesses tackle the huge impact that equipment to landfill has on the environment.”

Fourth is hosting a webinar called 'Tackling the Food Waste Challenge' which can be accessed, free of charge, here: https://www.fourth.com/en-gb/resource/tackling-the-food-waste-challenge/?ty=true.