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There are a number of ways in which operators can encourage employees to take sustainability seriously.
HIT Training licensed trade director Jeremy Scorer previously emphasised the importance of getting staff onboard with recycling initiatives.
"Teams are eager to participate and will be more fulfilled working for a company that sets recycling as a priority."
He said: “Pub operators should also make sure their teams are fully engaged with the recycling process.
“With a large percentage of the hospitality workforce made up of Millennials and Generation Z, sustainability tends to already be a motivator for the younger workforce.
“This means teams are eager to participate and will be more fulfilled working for a company that sets recycling as a priority.”
Growing passion
Molson Coors Beverage Company UK on-trade director Martyn Cozens said:
“Minimising waste behind the bar goes hand in hand with operating more efficiently – reducing pressure on resources and cutting costs at the same time so it’s a good idea to invest some time getting your team up to speed.
“We offer quick and easy training videos on our customer website MyMolsonCoors.com, covering everything from the perfect pour to cleaning lines, changing kegs and caring for your glass washer.
“As well as reducing waste, delivering the perfect pint every time is good for your pub’s reputation – so it’s a win-win from a business point of view.”
Scorer advised reiterating the importance of procedure was key with training for both new employees and existing.
He outlined how some operations have introduced talking about recycling as a discussion point in weekly team meetings, helping to engrain a sustainable conscious mindset into the culture of the company.
Meanwhile, operator Andy Link is the chef-patron of the Riverside at Aymestrey in Herefordshire.
Currently, the pub is the reigning champion of Best Sustainable Pub in the Great British Pub Awards and Link recently told The Morning Advertiser how he gets staff engaged on the award-winning venue’s sustainability journey.
“Once they are more invested in your story and your ethos, they then help spread it to the guests."
He said: “It’s always a challenge. You’ll always get staff members that just adopt it, love it, embrace and want to know everything.
“They are the easy ones because they will come along with you on the journey but what we have decided to do is always have regular garden tours with all our staff.
“Show them around, get them tasting some of the stuff we are growing, get them foraging with us because you grow the passion that way."
Ethos investment
Link added: “Once they are more invested in your story and your ethos, they then help spread it to the guests.
“Often guests will be here and be talking about our pigs or chickens and the staff who have had that tour around and have seen the chickens, know more about them, they help sell it for you.”
Link advised operators to get team members engaged with sustainability-based processes in a practical way.
“Involving them in the progress and the story is the vital part of it."
“We always make sure we involved them in what we do, the decision making process an regular involvement in every aspect of it,” he added.
“Whether that’s visiting a supplier or touring our grounds and gardens. We’ve even created benches all around our grounds so staff can relax when they’ve got a break to sit outside and experience it all.
“Involving them in the progress and the story is the vital part of it. You can almost make it too formal and then it doesn’t always go in.
“You’ve just got to constantly drip feed all that information.”
The Morning Advertiser has launched the Green Initiative, which is supported by Molson Coors Beverage Company and Brewfitt.
