Belu, in partnership with The Sustainable Restaurant Association (The SRA), has launched a new Small Business Guide to Sustainability. 

Grounded in The SRA’s comprehensive Food Made Good Framework, the Guide includes practical steps, case studies and resources to support smaller businesses on their sustainability journey, whatever their starting point. By making this resource openly accessible and free, Belu and The SRA hope to reduce the environmental impact of the hospitality sector. 

For small restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels and other F&B businesses, the Guide covers everything from assessing their starting point and how to take action on sustainability right through to communicating their hard work to staff and customers and building a collaborative network of like-minded businesses. Combining expert advice and insights with real-life examples, this has been designed as a practical companion for small hospitality businesses.

The Food Cardiff networking is working towards its ambition of becoming one of the UK’s most sustainable food cities by achieving the Gold Sustainable Food Places Award. Food Cardiff hopes that hospitality businesses can use the new guide to make one of more of its business-specific Pledges in support of that Gold ambition.

Case studies of businesses that have successfully integrated sustainability into every facet of their operations provide inspiration throughout the Guide, illustrating how the advice shared can be put into practice. 

Stories in the guide include:

• the clever closed-loop food system designed to eliminate food waste,
• the chefs who honour unique ingredients foraged from the surrounding landscape,
• the simple switch to filtered water that led to an outstanding reduction in carbon emissions,
• the sourcing policy prioritising small-scale producers using traditional skills,
• the daily commitment to dishing up a 25-mile menu 
• the no-cling-film kitchen!

 Jan Roberts, director of commercial & customer relationships at Belu said:

“We’re always so inspired and invigorated by the many sustainability champions among our hospitality customers, from restaurants and bars to cafés and diners – businesses of all sizes. We see their commitment to environmental responsibility not only drive their success, but also create a ripple effect of positive change in their communities. We love being able to celebrate and share their stories in this guide, which we hope will inspire others to adopt a more sustainable approach.”

Managing director of The Sustainable Restaurant Association Juliane Caillouette Noble said: 

“As part of our mission to support the hospitality industry on the road to a more sustainable future, The SRA is committed to providing practical resources that solve real-world problems for F&B businesses. We are very proud to launch this Small Business Guide to Sustainability, and hope that it’s a useful tool for smaller organisations who are eager to operate in a more planet-friendly way, but might not know where to get started”.

The Small Business Guide to Sustainability is free to download HERE. To find out more about Cardiff’s recent SRA three-star award winner, Pasture, and learn more about the work they’re doing on environment, sourcing and society check out our blog and video.