International Foodservice Sustainability Symposium

The International Foodservice Sustainability Symposium (IFSS) was established in 2011, with the support by its founding sponsors, National Restaurant Association Conserve Initiative (Washington, DC), Kendall College (Chicago), and Food Service Technology (San Ramon, CA). While no date has been set for the next symposium, the concept is alive and growing.

The sustainability mission continues to gain ground and becomes more mainstream each year. While some contend that “this too shall pass,” it could be true in only one sense – by the end of this decade there may be much less buzz around the term, “sustainability,” not because it will be less important, but rather because it will ingrained in of standard operational practices. Here are a few pertinent facts to support the business case that is the true driver of sustainability in the foodservice industry:

·        Foodservice uses 5x more energy than any other commercial business.

·        Foodservice contributes half of all food waste directed to landfills.

·        The average restaurant uses approximately 5,800 gallons of water each day and according to USA Today, Atlanta, San Francisco and Wilmington, Del. have seen water costs triple over the last 12 years.

The most impressive business case of all? Every energy, water, sewage and sanitation dollar saved drops straight to the bottom line as pure profit. A business operating on an eight percent profit margin, must increase sales by $12.50 to add just one dollar in profits. To keep that in perspective, a modest $500 monthly saving translates to a profit increase of $6,000.

Please feel free to explore the site as there are many resources included and more will be posted in the coming weeks and months.