SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY
TRENDS FOR 2026
ENDLESS TRENDS WON’ T DEFINE SUSTAINABILITY IN 2026, BUT ONE URGENT FORCE WILL: RESILIENCE. FROM WATER SCARCITY TO CLIMATE-SMART INNOVATION, DEAN MURUVEN WARNS THE HOSPITALITY AND FOOD SECTORS MUST ADAPT NOW OR RISK SURVIVAL IN A VOLATILE FUTURE.
As climate pressures mount and uncertainty continues across the hospitality, food, and beverage sectors, sustainability expert Dean Muruven of Boston Consulting Group South Africa believes 2026 will be defined by a single force: resilience.
Muruven, who has authored global publications on biodiversity, water policy, nature-based solutions and sustainable finance, and who previously served as WWF’ s Global Policy Lead for Water, argues that adaptation is no longer a future imperative – it’ s a vital current survival strategy.
” It’ s not about the top five trends, but rather a key overarching trend for the food, beverage, and hospitality sector for the coming year: a focus on adaptation and resilience,” he explains.“ With the question being how they are building resilience against changing climate extremes and weather events.”
That, he says, is becoming crucial, especially in South Africa, where water insecurity continues to worsen.“ The question the sector will need to ask is:‘ Do we have enough water to produce the food and products that we need, and is the hospitality sector in a position to ensure that their guests have safe, high-quality water to drink?’”
Floods and droughts, often fluctuating unpredictably between the two, have already disrupted operations, and Muruven warns that in 2026, these events are likely to become more frequent and more intense.
102 TRADE & TASTE / 2026