FAQ's - About Circular Kitchens
- WHAT IS CIRCULAR KITCHENS?
Circular Kitchens is a not-for-profit social enterprise desiged to help hospitality businesses become more circular and to promote our community of businesses through marketing and promotion.
The Circular Kitchens Certification is rooted in practical actions across our 4 Principles:
– Plastic Free (no fossil-fuel based plastics)
– Ecological & Ethical (regenerative of planet and communities)
– Local & Regional (nearest supplier rule of thumb to benefit our local economies and minimise food miles)
– Zero Waste (divert waste from incineration and landfill)
Our “Hospitality Guide to becoming Circular” (available to download upon registration) provides clear direction in the form of guidance and a very simple game-changing framework that is easy to visualise and communicate to your team.
Our 3 Star Certification is so simple we are able to communicate it on a single printable A4 page (for preview, email [email protected])
Our membership also comes with the support of your dedicated CK-Rep and the tools we are developing to overcome the barriers to becoming sustainable. This includes the Circular Kitchens Marketplace designed to take the pain out of sustainable procurement. Our marketplace (coming soon – currently at the latter phase of R&D) generates a list of products ranked by their sustainability score (our holistic CK-Scoring) as per your product category of interest such as “coffee cups”, allowing buyers to find sustainable products at their fingertips, free from greenwashing.
Join us today and gain the respect and recognition from customers, staff and stakeholders.
The Circular Kitchens guidance enables you to do even more good for people and the planet. We celebrate your progress and help you translate it into brand awareness and customer loyalty through individual and umbrella marketing so that conscious customers know where to find you!
Circular Kitchens aspires to become the Gold Standard for sustainability in the hospitality sector. Together we can give rise to more ecological, circular and local food systems!
- WHAT IS THE CIRCULAR KITCHENS FRAMEWORK?
The Circular Kitchens Certification is based on 4 Principles of a circular economy: Plastic Free, Ecological & Ethical (Good for people and good for the environment), as Local and Regional as possible (nearest supplier rule of thumb) and Zero Waste (divert from landfill and incineration).
Our Framework takes restaurants on a 3 Star journey as follows:
1 Star:
- Replace single-use plastic + Track Region of Origin and ecological status of supplies
2 Stars:
- Increase local and ecological supplies.
3 Stars:
- Communicate region of origin and ecological status to your customers.
For a comprehensive one-page snapshot of our framework across our 3 Star certification please email [email protected].
The full “Hospitality Guide to becoming Circular” is available for download upon registration.
- WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME CERTIFIED?
Our certification and enabling platform is available for all hospitality businesses serving food, including restaurants, take-aways, cheesemongers, bakers, cafes, ice cream parlours, food trucks and stalls, mobile operators and catering businesses.
If you are at the business-planning phase, ahead of opening a new business, please get in touch so we can help you be certified and promoted from day one!
- ARE MY DATA AND RESULTS CONFIDENTIAL?
While your pledges are public and displayed on your profile page for you to demonstrate your progress to your existing and potential customers, your data is confidential and will only be used for improving our service and communicating insights in the aggregate (anonymised).
- WHAT’S INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS?
To achieve the Circular Kitchen Certification a business must commit, through a series of 14 pledges across our 4 Principles, to achieve a 1, 2 and 3 Star certification, within 6, 12 and 18 months of joining.
Pledges are submitted online upon registration and take around 10 minutes to complete.
The business will receive an invitation to fill out simple and succinct surveys as follows:
- 1-3 Month Survey
- Identify single-use plastics to be replaced with sustainable alternatives.
- Confirm tracking of the Region of Origin of all consumables.
- Confirm tracking of the Ecological Status of all consumables.
- Confirm tracking and minimising of food waste through observation, planning and composting.
- Confirm recycling is taking place for all materials.
- Confirm adherence to high standards of treating staff fairly.
- 5-6 Months Survey
- Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
- Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.
- Confirm all single use plastics have been replaced with sustainable alternatives.
- Identify small refills of consumables and non-consumables to be replaced with large refills.
- Identify soaps and cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals (keep away from eyes) to be replaced with sustainable alternatives.
- Confirm water and energy efficiency and conversion to renewable electricity (assuming equal or lower cost to current plan).
- Renew commitment to increase local and ecological inputs of food and beverages.
- 9-12 Months Survey
- Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
- Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.
- Confirm small refills of consumables and non-consumables have been replaced with large refills.
- Confirm soaps and cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals (those written: Danger and keep away from eyes) have been replaced with sustainable alternatives.
- Confirm presence of 1 dish in starters, mains and desert that is 100% local/regional and ecological.
- 15-18 Months Survey
- Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
- Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.Confirm communication the region of origin of food and beverages to your customers.
- Confirm communication the ecological status of food and beverages to your customers.
- Yearly thereafter
- Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
- Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.
- Confirmation of having 2 or more dishes in starters, mains and desert that are 100% local/regional and ecological.
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ACHIEVING THE CERTIFICATION?
CK Accreditation can benefit your business in the following ways:
Action plan: Using our Framework enables you to manage and prioritise your actions. The report provided at the end gives your business a ready-made action plan to embed positive changes, strengthen your supply chains, motivate staff, attract attention and build a thriving, future-fit business in the process.
Recognition: Your business is provided with an independent, third-party accreditation and recognition of your actions on the sustainability and circularity issues that matter most.
Competitive advantage: With more consumers choosing to dine at sustainable restaurants and demanding eco-friendly practices, accreditation can help your business stand out from the crowd.
Cost savings: Sustainable practices can help your business reduce costs through initiatives such as energy and water efficiency and by reducing food waste.
Enhanced reputation: Accreditation shows that your business is committed to environmental and social responsibility, which can enhance your reputation with customers, investors, and other stakeholders.
Expert guidance: Circular Kitchens offers guidance on sustainable practices, providing your business with expertise that can help you achieve your goals.
Access to a network: Achieving the Standard makes you part of a global movement for change. As part of the Circular Kitchens Community, you can share, learn and collaborate with a network of like-minded professionals committed to creating a positive future.
Positive impact: By implementing sustainable practices, your business can have a positive impact on the environment and on local communities, helping to create a more sustainable food system.