By Katie Sillars, Supplier Development Manager, Bidfood Scotland

AS announced in the Scotland Food and Drink 2030 strategy, the objective is to grow the Scottish food and drink sector to £30 billion by 2030. At Bidfood Scotland we’re passionate about working with suppliers and customers in hospitality to take a more sustainable approach.

Sustainability has previously been misunderstood, viewed as a buzz word or a nice to have within the food and drink industry. Increasingly however, it is becoming essential to the success of hospitality businesses driven by legislation and consumer demand. But does the industry really know how to embrace this change and grasp the opportunity sustainability presents?

Within food and drink, sustainability covers a multitude of areas from efficient use of energy, water, sustainable waste management system and recycling facilities and sustainable sourcing of ingredients. The positive impact of adopting a successful, sustainable approach is significant in terms of cost savings and competitive advantage, not to mention the environmental benefits.

In Scotland, consumer appetite for sustainable food choices is growing and carries a premium, with VisitScotland reporting that visitors will pay up to 15 per cent more for food of Scottish origin. The key to success is therefore telling your story of provenance and helping consumers make informed decisions.

Food and drink businesses can provide consumers with the right choices by understanding the need for quality assurance and provenance and by communicating this to customers. This will attract new consumers and result in higher revenues, and according to Visit Scotland, businesses promoting Scottish produce report up to 20 per cent higher sales.

It is clear that a sustainable approach to food and drink offers great opportunities for the industry, businesses and individuals but that doesn’t mean it comes without its challenges.

For businesses in food service, the biggest barriers to adopting a sustainable approach are perceived time, cost and risk. Businesses believe it can be time-consuming finding the right suppliers, arranging meetings with individual suppliers to sample produce and setting up supply lines.

It’s also a widespread belief that buying local is more expensive but careful buying, and ensuring there is no food waste, can help reduce food bills. Businesses can also use the “local” and “provenance” messages to effectively market themselves and attract more customers.

Ensuring the suppliers have the correct technical accreditations and labelling requirements for allergens is an additional food safety issue which catering businesses are responsible for when sourcing locally, and this can add risk. That’s why we have launched our campaign Source, Serve, Sustain, to educate our customers by launching a series of online training videos on sustainability and working with our Scottish suppliers to be more sustainable.

The initiative also works in collaboration with sustainability experts, including Green Tourism, to support customers on their green journey across food production, packaging and waste management systems. We are also promoting Scottish suppliers that have strong green credentials.

Education is the key to the future of sustainability. Having a well-trained team in a food and drink business will make all the difference when it comes to making more informed and sustainable choices as well as spreading the green movement and informing customers.

For me the future of sustainability in food and drink is to create a sustainability programme operating across Scotland which collaborates with Scottish Government, the private sector, farmers and food producers. It is only with this joined-p approach can we truly become a sustainable force for good.