Creating a Sustainability Toolkit for Restaurants

Adam Jones (), Timothy Laing, Ivanka Majic, Francisca Farache and Julian Riano
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Adam Jones: School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Timothy Laing: School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Ivanka Majic: Restaurants Brighton, 20 Grant Street, Brighton BN2 9UN, UK
Francisca Farache: School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Julian Riano: School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK

Tourism and Hospitality, 2025, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-25

Abstract: When the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed, they provided a reality check, questioning the ways in which organisations were addressing the needs of society and the planet, across all sectors worldwide. In response, this study contributes to SDG 12, Responsible Production and Consumption, more specifically considering support for restaurant owners as they transition into environmentally focused and sustainable operations, in particular with the proposal of a researched and informed sustainability toolkit. To understand the factors underpinning successful sustainability practices in restaurants, we utilise the motivation, opportunity, and ability (MOA) framework, applying a two-step focus group methodology. The first focus group included restaurant owners/managers who had effectively applied sustainable operational practices. For the second focus group, we utilised MOA factors uncovered in the first group as discussion points to engage with restaurant owners/managers who had yet to embrace environmentally sustainable practices in order to understand the reasons preventing them from applying sustainability practices. Continuous networking and dynamic support were highlighted as crucial elements needed by restaurant owners to enable them to adopt and fruitfully implement sustainable practices. Theoretical contributions include the value of the MOA framework for evaluating sustainability practices, informing the development of a sustainability toolkit, and its suitability as a framework to support non-chain tourism businesses in developing practices to support sustainability, inclusivity, and access.

Keywords: restaurant sustainability; motivation opportunity and ability; restaurant sustainability toolkit; sustainable tourism; SDG12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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