Intelligent design, careful equipment selection and management of the kitchen are some of the most significant ways hospitality can cut its environmental impact, according to food service consultancy Tricon.

Speaking at the British Institute of Facilities Management autumn event at law firm Allen & Overy’s headquarters in London last week, Tricon’s managing director Mike Coldicott said current catering practices would be hard to maintain.

“As an industry we’re a main user of gas, water and electricity but with prices rising for energy, and water likely to become scarce, we need to take practical steps to build a sustainable future and manage utility costs,” he said.

Tricon estimates that with a single large commercial kitchen produces on average 668 tonnes of planet warming carbon dioxide a year and uses 3,400,000kwh of energy. With 273,000 catering kitchens in the UK, Tricon claims that in total the sector pumps out 48 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

However, Coldicott said that with better design and energy conservation and the adoption of common sense measures and regular maintenance, caterers could shave off 20 million tonnes annually from this total and save money to boot.

Environmental and energy cost of poor maintenance

• A blocked condenser: 23% increase in power consumption
• Faulty door of fridge seal: 11% increase in power consumption
• Incorrect temperature setting: 6% increase in power consumption
• 15% loss of refrigerant causes a 100% increases in power consumption
• Incorrect gas/air mix on a burner can waste 20% of the gas through non combustion
• A heating element thick with scale uses 50% more energy to reach temperature 

Read more news on green issues at Caterer's Green Zone >> 

Tricon website >>

BIFM website >>

The Caterer Blog: Cowabunga, it’s Green Month >> 

By Chris Druce

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