Drinks Doctor: How can the drinks industry be more sustainable?
From solar panels to buying from local suppliers, small steps to sustainability are the way forward, says Nicola Tickle, co-owner of Heft
The hospitality industry and sustainability have become increasingly intertwined over the past few years. We're aware of how beneficial sustainable practices across the business can be, not only for us, but for our guests too, which is why we're constantly trying to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint and reuse what ordinarily would have been classified as waste. For example, the water from the drinks refrigeration system is used to water our small orchard at the rear of Heft during the summer months, and during winter the same water is used to water our indoor plants.
At Heft, we serve a wide variety of beer crafted by local producers, including the likes of Fell Brewery in Flookburgh and Lakes Brew Co in Kendal. Both breweries have consciously decided to try to reduce their carbon footprint by installing solar arrays, and they've also taken the decision to move away from bottled beers to cans, which reduces transport Co2 emissions. What's more, less energy is used when the aluminium is recycled and it's also 100% recyclable and can be reused time and time again, which also reduces the quantities of raw materials required to make cans.
There is no two ways about it, boiling water to make beer is expensive, but hopefully with the addition of both sets of solar panels these two breweries have made significant inroads into becoming sustainable.
Talking of water – we live and work in the Lake District, so why would we use bottled water? Our bar and restaurant water comes straight from the tap and is filtered with a Nordaq system, to provide quality still and sparkling filtered water in-house, significantly reducing the amount of glass waste we generate.
Alongside that, my husband Kevin and his team in the kitchen responsibly forage, using the seasonal resources available from our landscape to provide a range of interesting flavours, textures and ingredients for use in our dishes and our drinks. They are very careful to source these ingredients respectfully and sensibly, pickling and preserving any surplus from their harvest, which ultimately means they are reducing the need to source equivalent ingredients out of season and from further afield, which in many cases would be the other side of the world.
Sustainability is all about reducing, reusing and recycling. It's not a competition, it's about sharing our ideas and projects to help other restaurants and bars become more sustainable and help further reduce the industry's carbon impact. We're constantly asking our industry friends how we can improve our sustainability practices, so my question to you is, what are you doing in your business to help reduce your carbon footprint?
Do you have a question for one of the Drinks Doctors? Send your query to drinks@thecaterer.com
Seasonal food and drink pairing
Franciacorta Rosé and charcuterie
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