Customers with the most buying power are placing increasing importance on restaurant sustainability. Understanding sustainability in the online ordering process can lead to increased customer satisfaction, engaged custom loyalty programs, and maximized profits.

For more sustainable practices, review our five best practices for restaurant sustainability. These include using environmental order packaging, route optimization through ordering tracking, intelligent costing, sustainable food sources, and energy-efficient equipment. Tools in our Revolution Ordering software can support each of these enhancements.

Experiment with sustainability, and see how you can promote your brand's appearance and reputation, foster loyalty, and increase restaurant sales. By choosing sustainable online ordering for restaurants, enterprise brands can lead the way to a more sustainable sales future—and a competitive edge.

Key Takeaway: Restaurant sustainability offers enterprise brands the opportunity to impress, convert, and delight more customers for more sustainable sales numbers.

What is Restaurant Sustainability?

Businesses achieve restaurant sustainability through improved operational efficiency and practices that help reduce their impact on the environment. One such practice is the use of eco-friendly packaging and delivery methods that are sustainable and reduce waste.

Additionally, restaurants can minimize food waste by donating excess to local food banks or composting. Offering healthier alternatives can also help encourage customers to make planet-positive choices. In turn, this reduces the amount of waste created from the greenhouse gas emissions of unhealthy, processed foods.

More than this, using energy-efficient equipment (or electric vehicles) saves money on energy bills and reduces costs. In short, businesses can take many different steps to promote restaurant sustainability and reduce their impact on the environment. 

We cover five best practices after our top market predictions for sustainability in the restaurant industry..

Market Predictions for Restaurant Sustainability

Case studies of large-scale, enterprise restaurants recently found a growing trend for incorporating sustainable practices into their online food ordering systems. This is driven by customer demand for more ethical, aware, and environmental options in items and services.

Increased Profit Potential

Importantly, this shows business owners that large-scale adoption of sustainable practices is achievable and attractive. Showcasing their efforts, brands make positive strides in their appearance and reputation. This fosters more customer loyalty program engagement and boosted profits overall.

Improved Cost Savings

By 2025, other research estimates a significant increase in eco-friendly packaging and plat-based meal options. Looking at the changes economically, businesses stand to save through sustainable practices, leading to positive return on investment.

Better Tech Enablement

Perhaps most interesting of all, studies indicate that predictive analytics can be used for improving restaurant sustainability. Sustainable technology, experts say, is instrumental in making operations smoother, costs lower, food waste reduced, and eco-friendliness visible.

In part, this is from predictive analytics and business intelligence tools built into software like Revolution Ordering. Data analytics allow delivery optimizations, emission reduction, and signals a new way to meet restaurant sustainability goals.

5 Restaurant Sustainability Practices for Enterprise Brands

Online ordering software turns out to be a multifaceted way to improve restaurant sustainability. This supports restaurant growth when the right environmental interventions delight concerned customers. Explore some of the best ways to add an environmentally aware flavor to your restaurant's customer experience.

1. Use more sustainable order packaging.

Biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable packaging are great options for enhancing the consciousness of your brand, especially for online ordering deliveries. Many popular restaurants also promote the use of plant-based materials in their packaging, materials, and even food items.

Biodegradable packaging is just such a material that remains a natural and favorite choice for consumer goods. But, reusable packaging can be equally aware by making sure to get many uses out of a single resource. Then, recyclable packaging takes third with non-food materials that can be salvaged and reused.

2. Reduce emissions with route optimization.

Revolution Ordering features can help you optimized the routes drivers take from multi-location restaurants. By making sure your drivers are keeping efficient mileage and reducing fuel costs in the process, ordering software supports your restaurant sustainability.

A few more ways for your restaurant to reduce emissions with online ordering include:

• Deliver multiple orders at once
• Invest in electric vehicles for delivery
• Offer utensils by request only

3. Minimize food waste with intelligent costing.

Food costing software methods help shrink costs associated with food waste, food spoilage, and inventory hiccups. For more effective restaurant inventory management, food inventory software can help to predict restocking, prevent stockouts, and improve careful use of in-stock items.

By using restaurant inventory management features in online food ordering software, you can track spending more efficiently. As you do, you’ll reduce food waste costs, improve restaurant sustainability, and protect profits in the process.

4. Introduce more sustainable food sources.

One of the leading restaurant sustainability practices encourages healthy eating with plant-based digital menu ordering options. Consider a vegan drinks menu or offer plant-based milks for coffee and cocktails. This includes showcasing organic, fresh, and natural products used in recipes as well as opportunities to customize recipes with alternative proteins and ingredients.

To make your sustainable menu a little healthier, consider adding vegan and vegetarian options first. Then, investigate the impact of further improvements like buying locally and replacing resource-heavy ingredients like red meats with more sustainable seafood.

Ultimately, this can cut restaurant food costs while taking a load off agricultural emissions.

5. Buy efficient equipment and software.

Energy efficient equipment may not need to begin with an electric vehicle purchase. Instead, many restaurants see the potential for reducing energy costs right away with efficient kitchen equipment.

As you shop for sustainable restaurant equipment, seek out the Energy Star certification sticker. This should prove the equipment will perform at peak for your restaurant and the planet.

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant Sustainability

Restaurant owners should know the role of sustainability in their restaurant online ordering system. By implementing best practices based on common questions, your restaurants can increase profits and improve brand image.

What is sustainability in a restaurant?

Restaurant sustainability means businesses in the food service industry should minimize their impact on the planet. To become more sustainable, restaurants can use tools that reduce energy use. They can make deliveries more sustainable, use ingredients that create fewer emissions, and turn food waste into compost.

How are restaurants becoming more sustainable?

Restaurant sustainability is achieved by taking several measures such as using sustainable packaging, reducing delivery's carbon emissions, and minimizing food waste. Others also introduce healthy menu options, buy energy-efficient equipment, compost, and more.

These measures help in reducing the impact on the environment and ensuring sustainable practices in the food industry.

What are the characteristics of a sustainable restaurant?

Sustainable restaurants aim to have a minimal impact on the environment by implementing eco-conscious practices. 

These practices include things such as recycling, adding vegan menu options, reducing food waste, and using alternative energy sources. Others also aim to improve inventory management to avoid over-ordering perishables.

Why should restaurants be more sustainable?

Reducing food waste and becoming more sustainable can help you increase profits. Through menu management, operational efficiency, and minimal waste, you can save money. By spending less money on discarded food, you can save money overall.