The daily catch at The Commoner , at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh : “ There have been significant advances in being able to track your carbon footprint from a corporate perspective ,” says Scott Gingerich , Kimpton ’ s senior vice president for restaurants and bars . “ We ask our suppliers about their carbon footprint , and for our liquor vendors , we ask about how they bottle and move liquid around .”
determine if a supplier is sustainable or not . “ You run into people who don ’ t give you a straight answer , plenty ,” he says . “ They don ’ t have an answer so they ’ ll give me everything they have that beats around that bush instead of a straight answer .”
Just making the requests and asking questions can drive suppliers to be more sustainable , Eggert says . “ When you ’ ve got a lot of customers asking the same sorts of questions , it raises up the issue on their radar screen .”
But sometimes chefs and managers need to confirm that suppliers are living up to their word . Rohan Ogale , director of F & B at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai , says his former chef , Stephane Calvet , would ride his motorbike all over Thailand to visit farmers and suppliers .
“ You have to be extra careful ,” Ogale says . “ For example , when my chef was casually checking out one of the farms that claimed to be organic , he saw bags of fertilizer lying around . You have to go in and check .”
It was Calvet ’ s enthusiasm for meeting with suppliers that led him to find small , sustainably sourced farms and producers for items such as river prawns , teas and coffee . Calvet ’ s practice is being carried on by the hotel ’ s new executive chef , Liam Nealon . “ You have to have that dialogue to distinguish being really being certified or just claiming you ’ re certified ,” Ogale says .
LINKS IN THE CHAIN At the Corinthia Hotel Budapest , the hotel ’ s chef , Balázs Ölvedy , launched a farm-to-table initiative . “ We are not only talking about top-quality ingredients , but also modern environment management and sustainable development ,” says Imre Turak , F & B director . “ Our food and beverage team and chefs know the farms and producers personally and trust them to provide the hotel with high-quality goods .”
The chef , Turak says , reformatted the hotel restaurant ’ s entire menu , and the beverage team looked for new suppliers . “ Each course is adjusted to the ingredient , not the other way round ,” Turak says . “ It has taken thousands of miles to get to every corner of the country and find those free-range farms and small-producing suppliers that matched our new concept .”
Sometimes , hotels need to work directly with both suppliers and an environmental organization . That ’ s what Walt Disney World resorts and theme parks did . Their food and beverage team sent a representative from their Florida-based coffee purveyor , Joffrey ’ s , to Peru , about a decade ago to meet with farmers in the rain forest and to work with Conservation International .
“ He worked with them and encouraged the farmers to make some changes , and then he returned the next year ,” says Brian Koziol , F & B concept development director for Walt Disney World . “ Today , that ( fair trade and sustainably grown ) coffee is served in all of the press pots in our hotel rooms .”
Sustainability with suppliers generally works in two ways , one to reduce waste , and one to reduce carbon footprints , Eggert says . “ I think waste is the easier of the two , but I would argue that carbon footprint is the more important of the two ,” he says . “ Companies are trying to figure out right now what kind of information they need to get from their suppliers regarding carbon impact .”
LEVERAGING INFLUENCE At Kimpton Hotels , the carbon footprint of the hotel chain ’ s suppliers is important , says Scott Gingerich , senior vice president for restaurants and bars . “ There have been significant advances in being able to track your carbon footprint from a corporate perspective ,” he says . “ We ask our suppliers about their carbon footprint , and for our liquor vendors , we ask about how they bottle and move liquid around . Different countries have varying standards and certifications , but we think about the message we ’ re passing on to the guest and do our own research .”
Hotels should be collaborating with each other and with restaurants to negotiate for more sustainable practices , Eggert says .
“ Once you start leveraging with suppliers , you ’ re going to be making a lot more progress ,” he says . “ The companies that are the most progressive in working with their supply chain identify their suppliers in tiers . They start with their 10 largest suppliers , work through the issues , and then they take it to the next 10 or 25 suppliers .”
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