As leading commercial printers in Melbourne, our core focus is on sustainability. If you’re looking to create sustainability for your hospitality business, here’s our 3 simple tips…
By their very nature, hospitality businesses are very innovative when it comes to reusing and upcycling. Local Melbourne cafes inspire sustainable ideas with their unique furniture, artworks, and clever ideas for consumed left-over packaging.
At first, sustainability practices can be a challenge for businesses. But as you start to look around, you can’t help but see what people are already implementing. Change doesn’t always have to be on a grand scale; it can be small and accumulative.
We love seeing the innovation that different hospitality venues use every day. The more you think about sustainability, the more you see sustainability, and it becomes part of your everyday life. You can’t help but see it!
Repurposing Empty Milk Cartons into Coffee Carrying Heroes
Coffee vendors go through litres of all kinds of milk every day. The containers either pile up for recycling or go into the rubbish. It is great to see cafes creatively upcycling these containers by reusing them as a takeaway coffee cup carrier. It’s such an innovative idea!
It’s so simple to do too. Just cut two ‘X’ shapes into the face of the cardboard milk container (clean it first, obviously ;). Then fold in the triangle flaps, leaving a spot for the cups to slip into place ready to be carried by your customer. It’s as simple as that!
Not only does it help the customer carry their coffee back to the office, but it also creates a second purpose from its original use. Better yet, it also saves you money from having to buy a specific product to do the job.
Repurposing empty milk cartons is just one of many ideas that cafes are coming up with that we have seen and love. So simple yet so effective.
Upcycling Milk Crates and Furniture
We all love the humble milk crate. We’ve probably used one as storage, a bookcase or a seat at some stage. Many cafes and food trucks go beyond the milk crate to repurpose and champion pieces of furniture that would have become landfill.
The furniture industry is one of the least sustainable on the planet. These days, so much of it is made cheaply and goes into landfill. We love seeing funky cafés with handmade upcycled furniture.
Upcycled furniture could be as small as painted milk crates with a cushion. Or it could be as big as using cable spools as tables. You can even mix & match chairs and tables that have been repainted and restored to help fit the theme.
All these pieces can reduce wastage and stop perfectly usable items from going to the dump. They help make places feel unique and inviting and show that the business has a real commitment to sustainability.
Buying second-hand furniture, or finding freebies to fix up, can help add character to an establishment. They remind us of places we have been or pieces that we (or someone we knew) once had. They connect the past to our present and beyond.
We really do believe that creativity goes hand in hand with sustainability.
A New Life for Second Hand Kitchen Equipment
Brand new kitchen equipment for your hospitality business can be expensive, but it’s not your only option.
Buying second-hand kitchen equipment from refurbishing or closing businesses is another way to step up into the sustainability field. Sadly, with many businesses having to close due to hard times, now is the time to help them out by spending your cash on their used kitchen equipment.
Items like stoves, ovens, benches, fridges and coffee machines can be a considerable expense. But you can reduce your costs by hunting around for the right item being resold.
Buying second-hand not only saves money, but you can source some high-quality brands. This helps reduce the instant depreciation that comes with a brand-new purchase and stops them from becoming a landfill. Win-win all round!
Every Small Sustainability Practice Adds Up To Big Change – The Future is Now
The future of sustainability is bright, and we’re glad to be living in this era. Businesses are embracing it more than ever before because they know how important being sustainable can be for both their bottom line and the environment around us.
With the rise in renewable energies and green tech advancements, we are now seeing a change in how local businesses operate and advance towards the future. It’s encouraging to see businesses embrace change and get creative with contributing towards change.
We hope these tips have given you some inspiration so that your own business can continue on this positive path!
Our Commitment as a Leading Sustainable Printer in Melbourne
As a leading commercial printer in Melbourne, one of our core focuses is the constant improvement of sustainability practices in the workplace. We strongly believe in doing our part to make this world a better place.
One of the ways we help local businesses achieve this for themselves is by offering sustainable paper sources such as stone paper materials and repositional media . This helps to cut down waste and improve biodegradability in the workplace.
If you’re looking for a sustainable printer in Melbourne, then contact our sustainably conscious team today. We’d love to hear from you and see how we can help improve your business printing needs.
