QSR June 2022

DEPARTMENT CLIMATE RESPONSIBILITY

Seamless Sustainability A low-effort, high-impact initiative allows operators to sit back and save the planet. BY RACHEL PITTMAN

thinking about how they can make a good choice within the current system.” It goes without saying that sustainability is worth the industry’s attention. The environ mental impact of the food industry is massive; according to Zero Foodprint’s website, the food system contributes close to half of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. And many consumers are interested in ways that foodser vice can lessen its footprint. In 2021, Statista reported that a hefty 81 percent of Americans would like more food options that protect the environment, and 65 percent of Americans are willing to pay more at a sustainable restaurant. Ingredients are largely responsible for the industry’s carbon footprint, which is why, ini tially, Myint and Leibowitz founded Zero Foodprint—in tandem with The Perennial, a concept that championed regenerative agri culture—with the purpose of convincing chefs and restaurants to shift to ingredients grown via regenerative methods. But this approach required considerable logistical planning and effort on the part of involved concepts. In 2020, Zero Foodprint partnered with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the

Wesburger, a San Francisco-based chain, is also paying mind to its global impact.

P ainless onboarding, seamless operations, significant results— ideally, operators looking to lessen their environmental footprints need sustainability programs that meet all three of these criteria. As the cofounder of San Francisco’s cult dining destination Mission Chinese Food, restaurateur Anthony Myint has ample experience with restaurant operations, and thus, was uniquely equipped to build a sustainability initiative that would fit operators’ needs. In 2015, Myint and his wife and business part ner, Karen Leibowitz, founded Zero Foodprint, a nonprofit that supports regenerative agriculture. Straightforward and effective, Zero Foodprint leverages a 1 percent consumer upcharge on food and beverage purchases to provide grants for farmers looking to invest in eco-friendly farming practices. “Needless to say, with chefs and restaurants, everyone’s kind of overwhelmed and looking a couple of hours ahead, maybe a cou ple of weeks ahead, but definitely not 20 years ahead,” Myint says. “People try to do their best and take care of their customers and the planet, but most people aren’t thinking, ‘Oh, let’s try to change the whole food system, let’s change how food is grown.’ People are

California Air Resources Board to develop its current approach. “... What if, instead of buying the good stuff, you had a way where cool chefs, but also maybe even McDonald’s, were just send ing a couple of cents per purchase—let’s say 1 percent of sales—to help a rancher change half of his growth,” Myint says of the pro gram’s new approach. “It wouldn’t be predicated on logistics and trying to have small-scale processing and McDonald’s franchisees buying from that small butcher shop.” Since its pivot to the 1 percent upcharge model in 2020, Zero Foodprint has awarded over half a million dollars to more than 30 farms to invest in improving agricultural approaches. Myint reports that the new iteration of Zero Foodprint has democratized the program, making it more accessible for quick-service and fast casual concepts as well as fine dining. Now, Zero Foodprint’s model is particularly suited to the fast paced reality of quick-service operators. Rather than doing the legwork of building relationships with sustainable farmers and suppliers or re-allocating funds to support the purchase of more sustainably-grown ingredients, operators charge CONTINUED ON PAGE 62

WESBURGER

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JUNE 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com