SHARE YOUR STORY AUTHENTICALLY
Authentic communication (like showing real numbers, celebrating staff, acknowledging challenges, and involving customers) creates transparency and credibility. Here are some effective ways to communicate your sustainability story across different channels:
In-house signage and table tents
Menu descriptions:
“At our restaurant, waste is on the way out! To reduce our impact, we:
Website content:
“At our restaurant food is too good to waste! We donate unsold food and compost all kitchen and table scraps.”
“Our staff and customers are zero waste heroes – always making sure to recycle right.”
“Avoiding waste is good for our business, community, and customers!”
Social media posts:
“May 29th is National Learn About Composting Day. We compost all our kitchen scraps to help build healthy soils in our region!”
“September 29th is Food Waste Awareness Day. We help feed our community and avoid waste by donating unsold food!”
“We’ve ditched single use plastics, and our customers love it! Come check it out for yourself and have a (insert special or customer menu favorite) served with style!”
Staff talking points
“If your meal comes with anything you aren’t interested in, let me know and I’ll take it off the order, so it’s not wasted. I can also wrap it up to go if you’d rather enjoy it later.”
“Getting full? I’m happy to get you a box so you can keep enjoying your meal later.”
“I’m glad you saw our new zero waste signage, don’t hesitate to ask me about the changes and how they help keep plastic out of the ocean.”
“We aren’t zero waste yet, but our owners and staff feel really proud to have reduced our waste so much already.”
Media tip - Waste stories get readership
Consider reaching out to your local news outlets or running advertorials about your waste efforts. Waste reduction stories are a great way to engage with your customer base and community. Waste stories are especially popular around 'focus' days (e.g. International No Plastics Day, etc.)
