The famous Noodle House has announced a ban on single use plastics and implemented bio-degradable delivery packaging. Restaurants will increasingly be forced to adopt sustainable practices or run the risk of disappointing customers, according to Sarood Hospitality general manager Spencer Ayers.
“There will be a move towards rejecting brands that aren’t conscious about sustainability in the future,” Ayers said in an interview with Arabian Business. Following a similar move by Freedom Pizza in January 2018, other brands in the UAE immediately followed by banning the use of plastic straws, cutlery, cocktail sticks and stirrers across all its outlets. The initiative was then rolled out across other branches of hospitality by the second quarter of the year.
The goal for Hospitality businesses in Dubai and the UAE is to be single-use plastic free by the beginning of 2020.
Acting on the changing habits of tourists and locals in the UAE, restaurants are also increasingly being forced to use technology to “appease the needs” of the consumer.
Many restaurants will likely begin implementing technology that helps ease the process of ordering food, booking tables and paying. This will limit the use of paper thus contributing to the encasement of sustainability in the UAE area.
Sustainability practitioners bring strong skills and an umbrella way of thinking to deal with the challenges ahead. CSE is holding its next Certified Sustainability (CSR) Practitioner Program in Dubai, November 17-18, 2019.