Events, Sustainable Gastronomy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
Events, Sustainable Gastronomy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations General Assembly designated June 18 as "Sustainable Gastronomy Day." This day can serve as an inspiration for us to expand our implementation of sustainable food choices and practices in the events industry. While that day has past, the impact of what it stands for is sustainable.
How can events incorporate sustainable gastronomy?
As event professionals, we can make choices that are healthy and support the environment and communities, all while being delicious. Three of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are of direct relevance to the food choices that we make for events. By taking a few important actions, the events industry can support the effort to achieve the goals by 2030.
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture?: The second SDG includes a call to "double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers." Leveraging our buying power is the easy button. In the United States alone, the meetings and events industry has direct spending of $29.8 billion USD on food and beverage. Let's work towards increasing the share of this that supports small-scale food producers.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns: The events industry can be better for the environment, support the community and save money by reducing food waste. Check out our food waste resources, including our comprehensive sustainable food and beverage white paper, a video case study on food rescue from the NACE Annual Meeting, and a step-by-step food rescue guide.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development: Seafood can be a great, healthy choice for event menus, but sourcing sustainable options can be tricky. Fortunately, there are great resources to help you make the right choice. These include Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, Ocean Wise Seafood Program, Marine Stewardship Council's Sustainable Seafood Product Finder, and the World Wildlife Fund's Sustainable Seafood Guides (by country).
Director of Sustainability, Events Industry Council
