Sustainable Development Practices of Restaurants in Romania and Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Sustainable development is a constant and a necessity of daily life in the restaurant industry. The restaurant industry has high consumptions of energy, water, detergents, and consumables, together with tremendous food waste. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many acute sustainable development problems. In this context, this article analyzes the practices identified by restaurant managers that define their responsible behavior, and the significant changes made towards sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the results obtained through qualitative research, carried out by semi-directive in-depth interviews, conducted with 56 restaurant managers from Romania. The answers obtained are based on five topics of discussion highlighting the managers’ growing interest in finding solutions to counteract negative effects on the environment, to ensure the wellbeing of customers and employees, and to increase the profitability of their company. The results obtained from the research reflect the thoughts and actions of restaurant managers in Romania, contributing to the body of knowledge in the understanding of sustainability practices in the foodservice sector.

Exploring Younger Generation Sustainable Consumption in the Restaurant Industry

“…Asked by the interviewer about their choice to eat in a restaurant that applies sustainable measures versus a restaurant which does not implement sustainable practices, respondents highlighted medium attachment to restaurants that practice sustainable measures. The findings from this first topic are consistent with previous results (Băltescu, 2017;Drumea et al, 2020;Yamane and Kaneko, 2021;Băltescu et al, 2022;Nguyen et al, 2022;van Busse, et al, 2022).…”

“…The same study underlined which were the most unimportant factors, among them smaller portions, nutritional values as prerequisite for selecting restaurant meals and reduced meat consumptions. On the other hand, restaurant managers themselves do not consider the implementation of sustainable development practices as a priority, mainly due to their shortcomings in the responsible education (Băltescu et al, 2022). A relevant decision for restaurants with pro-environmental behavior consists in informing consumers on their sustainability achievements and to introduce several measures (among which the green index) in order to communicate green performances levels in the restaurant (Sarmineto and Hanandeh, 2018).…”

Unveiling sustainable service innovations: exploring segmentation patterns in Ecuadorian restaurant sector

“…Despite the economic and social pressures driving the implementation of sustainable measures in restaurants, research indicates that sustainability is not a priority for all restaurant managers (Adina et al ., 2022). Several factors act as barriers to the adoption of sustainable practices, limiting restaurants' capacity to respond to internal and external factors.…”

“…Commonly mentioned sustainability practices in the restaurant literature include efficient use of energy and water, recycling (waste, water, oil, paper, aluminum), sustainable sourcing (local and organic products) (Namkung and Cheong, 2013; Scozzafava et al ., 2017; Da Costa et al. , 2020; Adina et al ., 2022), pollution prevention (Namkung and Cheong, 2013), differentiated waste management, menu planning or modifications (Da Costa et al. , 2020; Adina et al ., 2022), food waste reduction (Martin-Rios et al ., 2018), efficient use of detergents and consumables, introduction of intelligent supply systems and staff well-being (Adina et al ., 2022).…”

“…, 2020; Adina et al ., 2022), pollution prevention (Namkung and Cheong, 2013), differentiated waste management, menu planning or modifications (Da Costa et al. , 2020; Adina et al ., 2022), food waste reduction (Martin-Rios et al ., 2018), efficient use of detergents and consumables, introduction of intelligent supply systems and staff well-being (Adina et al ., 2022).…”