Sustainability is an issue on the minds of business owners across many industries, but especially in the food and beverage sector.

While it may seem like a big undertaking or investment to make your business more sustainable, there are actually many ways to do so with relatively low investment and a great return. Here are a few ideas.

Limit Food Waste

According to ReFED, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste across the U.S., the restaurant industry alone generates about 11.4 million tons of food waste annually at a cost of about $25 billion per year. At restaurants, every dollar invested in food waste reduction can realize about $8 in cost savings.

Limiting food waste isn’t just a strategy for sustainability, it’s a great way to better your bottom line. After all, you pay for all of the food that enters your restaurant; it should be making money for you, not going to waste.

Training kitchen staff to be diligent with proper food handling, identifying products that have higher yield, and using scraps for other purposes like making stock or even compost are all options for lowering food waste. Standardizing recipes and keeping a log of food waste can be important tools in reducing waste. Make sure BOH staff are trained on your recipes and methods and that any food waste is logged so that you can identify, analyze, and prevent it from happening again.

The most important tool in reducing food waste is your inventory. Keeping accurate, regular inventory eliminates over-ordering and overproduction (which also saves time). Make sure staff are observing FIFO rules and consider using a POS system that helps you track inventory as you go.

Look for Sustainable Seafood and Meat Options

Share your message of sustainability on your menu, with seafood and meat options that are raised sustainably. Research farmers and producers in your area who are using sustainable practices, and then visit their operations to see for yourself. Call out those items on your menu so that guests understand any higher costs that may be associated with them.

According to a poll shared by Chef Hero, more than two-thirds of restaurant goers reported an intention to pay extra money to support sustainable restaurant practices. Rather than losing customers due to higher prices, you may in fact gain customers and improve customer loyalty by sharing your values.

Add Vegetarian and Vegan Menu Items

While sustainable meat and seafood options are excellent, there is no more sustainable menu choice than locally grown produce. Including a few vegetarian and vegan menu options will improve the overall sustainability of your menu and will likely attract more customers as well. Consider working directly with local farmers to grow items specifically for your restaurant and reach out to your distributor and suppliers to ask about surplus produce that you could glean at a good price for making sauces, stocks, or for preserving. These are typically less expensive than conventional produce and have the added benefit of making your whole menu more sustainable for the long-term.

Reduce Single Use Goods

Whether they’re straws, napkins, or to-go containers, find ways to reduce or eliminate single-use items, which end up in a landfill after a few minutes of use. Research recyclable and compostable products to use instead, and only offer single-use items like straws by request, rather than with every purchase.

Consider switching to linen napkins and look into using reusable cups for staff. The savings that you will see from lowering your single-use products is reason alone to implement the practice, but it’s also a great way to broadcast your restaurant’s sustainability initiatives to your customers.

Conserve Resources

Look at areas in the restaurant where you are using electricity, gas, and water, and brainstorm ways to reduce usage. One simple option is to have servers offer water to guests rather than pouring water in advance for every customer. You are paying for that water whether it’s consumed or not, so why not make sure your guests want it before setting the glass on the table.

Also, many BOH staff have been taught to fire up the hoods, ovens, and other appliances as soon as they begin prep in the morning. But consider the savings you could see by eliminating just one hour per day of usage. Train BOH staff to begin with tasks that can be done without firing up every piece of equipment in the kitchen, and stagger usage later in the morning. You’ll soon see a savings when you open your electric bill.

Train Staff

You are not the only person in your restaurant responsible for sustainability. In order for these initiatives to be successful, everyone on your staff must have some buy-in and understanding of your objectives. Train incoming staff from day one on the practices mentioned above, and make sure seasoned staff understand any changes that might be necessary to become more sustainable.

Taking staff on field trips to visit local farms is one way to help share the impact of your choices and inspire your staff. It also pays to listen to their ideas. Many times cooks and servers have great insight into areas where there may be unnecessary waste or opportunities to become more sustainable, and by contributing to the conversation, they see that their input is valued.

Spread the Word

Once you have adopted new sustainable practices, share the news with your audience via social media, e-newsletters, and, when applicable, through press releases to local media. Sustainability is an issue with broad appeal, so spreading the word can help you attract like-minded guests and staff to your establishment.