27 March, 2026

We often hear about the pressures facing the food industry, but far less about the practical and inventive ways the sector is responding. But our friends at the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) have just launched their biannual insights report, ‘Hospitality Rising: Global Challenges, Local Solutions’, which offers a hopeful glimpse into the recent measures taken across the industry.

Since 2010, the SRA’s Food Made Good Standard has helped over 15,000 food service sites worldwide improve their sustainability performance, making them a trusted force for positive change. This new report draws on real-life stories from these certified restaurants, cafes, hotels, bars, and caterers across 43 countries, offering insight into the state of the sector, the pressure it faces, and the myriad creative solutions used across the industry in response.

The report is split into three core themes- People, Plate and Planet- with each exploring the global trends, and environmental and social issues shaping the sector. The People Section examines the role of the hospitality industry in delivering social change, considering the crucial role of food spaces for communities across the globe, and the nearly 10% of the global workforce employed by the industry. It offers examples of how businesses are responding to evolving trends, such as the influence of ultra-processed foods, weight loss drugs and healthy menus, through examples like the newly launched UK campaign Bang in Some Beans, which encouraging businesses to sell and serve more beans.

The Plate chapter takes a closer look at supply chains, looking at how operators can move from being passive buyers to active system shapers through procurement decision-making and fair stakeholder treatment across the supply chain. It shows examples of how businesses can be diligent about how their ingredients are grown or produced, such as Wahaca’s recent partnership with regenerative beef supplier Grassroots, whose farms are committed to maintaining biodiversity.

And finally, Planet addresses the environmental impact that the hospitality industry is both exposed to and contributes to, such as climate volatility, water stress and fragile supply chains. It offers examples of how food businesses are reducing emissions by reformulating core dishes or designing circular systems which reduce waste. This includes The Belmond Hotel in Italy, which has introduced measures to reduce bread-waste from bread baskets, or De Vie’s cocktail bar in Paris which has gone ice free, using alternative innovative solutions like chilled glasses instead.

Overall, each chapter offers an encouraging glimpse of how food businesses can and are leading meaningful change for people and the planet, showing the enormous potential of creativity and innovation in the face of challenge.

By Rosie Serlin