It seems to be the buzz-word of a generation, but sustainability is something we all need to take seriously. The dictionary definition ‘is the ability to exist constantly’ and in the 21st century it specifically refers to the human race’s ability to peacefully and harmlessly coexist with the environment. Fitzers Catering are aware of the fast consumerist industry we live in and we want to do our small part to reduce our impact on our delicate biosphere. We’ve made many small and significant changes to the way we operate as a company to try and reduce the mark we leave on the world.
Fitzers main principles are the ethos behind our business and the qualities we hope to bring to every task we complete or event that we cater. We are passionate about these principles as we feel they give us a strong moral backbone. Fitzers objectives for 2019 focus on three areas in particular, which we feel are important for our future and the future of the planet;
- Environmental responsibility
- Corporate social responsibility
- Economic viability
Here are some of the main changes we have implemented this year to become more self-sustaining, promote biodiversity and have as little impact as possible on the environment.
Beehives
We are delighted to unveil our brand new beehive at one of our heritage venues – The Law Society. We are in the process of building and maintaining our very own bee population and herb garden which we will use to produce our own honey and herbs that can be used in the production of our delicious meals. It has been widely reported that the bee population, which is vital for pollination, is rapidly declining. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees and we aim to do our part to stop this decline. We also hope to produce enough honey to sell in the Vanilla Café.
Herb Plantations
Once completed, our herb garden will allow us to grow our own vegetables, fruits and herbs to use in our food preparation. Growing our own veg means most of what we serve and sell will be 100% organic and home grown. This will cut down on packaging, reduce waste and cut transport costs and fuel consumption as the produce will not need to travel far.
Keeping it green
Fitzers are committed and have implemented a strategy to move all of our disposable food service products to 100% sustainable and recyclable by the end of 2019. We have moved to compostable straws only, eliminating hundreds of thousands of single use plastic straws each year. This defeats the purpose if there is nowhere to actually dispose of the straws, so we are installing compostable bins in all of the bars that we service and customers and staff are encouraged to use them. We were delighted to host our first ever fully compostable event at one of our venues this month.
Keep it local
As well as reducing our waste, we also want to give back to the Irish farming community and work exclusively with local Irish farmers and suppliers across all venues where possible. As well as growing our own produce and honey, we have changed fish supplier to Nick’s Fish, a new supplier who utilises bigger fishing nets to avoid catching smaller and underdeveloped fish, allowing the species to grow and reproduce.
Staff
We encourage staff development and training in the areas of sustainability and are always open to suggestions on how we can improve our practices. We have given branded Fitzers reusable cups to all of our staff to discourage single use coffee cups. The Fitzers team also partook in the digital global climate strike to help raise awareness of this vital issue.
If your company would like to pair with a catering firm who cares deeply about our environment and the mark we leave on it, Fitzers are your perfect catering partner.
