8: Greater Focus on Sustainability

As recovery progresses in the hospitality and travel & tourism industries, I am excited for our and our clients’ renewed commitment to sustainability in live events. The pandemic affected so many facets of our business. In particular, supply chain disruptions including production slow-downs and multi-week shipping delays drove down available inventories and drove up wholesale prices. Ramp-up will take time, but a gradual recovery in the hospitality sector will give us the runway we need. As availability and pricing return to normal levels, we will be able to refocus and step-up our efforts. I am hopeful that our industry members take a more holistic approach, going beyond 'sustainability headliners' like compostable one-time use products and recycling programs.

We have opportunities to evaluate our water consumption, then identify and implement reduction and recapture practices. We can review our transportation fleets, adjusting replacement and expansion plans to include hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. As caterers, my team and I are excited about new local and regional food & beverage suppliers, and even forging partnerships with honeybee conservators. We of course will continue our work with food rescue organizations – our goal is to maximize sustainability from end-to-end of our entire business."

- Michael Stavros, Partner & Director of BizDev, M Culinary Concepts