Environment

Promoting awareness and sustainability in consumption is a major concern for ZFV. Transparency is a core factor here. For this reason, ZFV has introduced the Menu Sustainability Index (MSI) – a scientifically based tool that rates meals on the basis of environmental friendliness and nutritional balance – at the majority of its catering services restaurants.

more information about the MSI

How environmentally friendly a meal is, depends primarily on the proportion of animal products it contains. Meat production is a major source of environmental pollution. It consumes a disproportionately high level of resources as production requires multiple agricultural products in the form of feed. For this reason, ZFV is opting for an increased number of attractive vegan and vegetarian menus and training its teams of chefs so that guests can be environmentally friendly without having to sacrifice taste. To make our menus more environment friendly, we source seasonal produce as far as possible and avoid unnecessary transport miles, particularly by air.

According to current studies, one third of food is destroyed instead of being consumed in Switzerland – the bulk of this amount actually during processing (35%) and in private households (28%). 7% of food waste occurs in the food service industry. ZFV serves thousands of guests every day in its many restaurants and accordingly has a major responsibility. We want to actively address food waste, and thereby make our mark.

Food waste relates to avoidable waste. Food waste means food or parts of food that are or were edible and in perfect condition and could not be consumed because they had quality defects, the «best before» date had expired or because they went bad. It makes sense from an environmental, economic and social point of view to analyse food waste. ZFV has introduced effective tools to reduce it as far as possible. These include awareness-raising and training for employees, effective sourcing and volume planning and including leftovers in menu planning. Since starting to measure food waste in our restaurants in 2015, it has proved possible to reduce the volume of food waste by 26% in proportion to food turnover.

As a founder member of the «United Against Waste» association, we foster the exchange of knowledge and plan joint campaigns to increase awareness of food waste and to actually reduce it. We have also been a partner in the national «SAVE FOOD, FIGHT WASTE» initiative since its inception. Launched in the autumn of 2019, it informs consumers about the problems of food waste and provides people with simple tips and information about how to avoid food waste in their own personal sphere of action. By implementing measures in its restaurants, ZFV is making a real contribution and also inspiring customers to avoid food waste in their consumption at home.

The ZFV Food & Beverage Charter combines food service principles and sourcing policy in a binding scheme. The guidelines are aimed at implementing responsible and sustainable thinking and action in all ZFV restaurants with clear and standardised requirements.

These include the following guidelines

Complete Food & Beverage charter (in German)

People's eating habits are constantly changing and the takeaway culture is enjoying increasing popularity. Takeaway foods are practical and save time, but in many cases, there is no way round the associated packaging. To reduce the consumption of disposable tableware in takeaway food service, ZFV is increasingly adopting reusable solutions. These are more environmentally friendly and, at the same time, meet a growing consumer need.

ZFV is working with the Swiss company reCIRCLE in the war against disposable tableware. Its food boxes and beverage cups are produced in Switzerland, can be purchased in any restaurant and returned at any participating restaurant throughout Switzerland. They are washed and processed for reuse at the receiving restaurant.

In future, ZFV aims to move increasingly towards the elimination of all disposable packaging. This approach is already in place in some restaurants, where all takeaway products are offered only through the returnable system. As a further measure against disposable tableware and single-use plastic, the entire organisation stopped using disposable plastic in straws in mid-September 2019. For hot beverages, the «bring your own cup» initiative creates an incentive to reduce disposable tableware.

The ZFV environmental code is comprised of nine environmental principles and hence anchors the theme firmly within our enterprise:

ZFV’s environmental management system is certified in accordance with international standard ISO 14001. For more about environmental certification, see the chapter on our quality management system.