Food & Drink sourcing is a key component of a sustainability strategy in the F&B industry and leads to many benefits such as reduced operating costs, improved products quality, improved community relationships, increased customer loyalty, and improved morale and loyalty among staff.
Our diet and food choices have a significant impact on our carbon footprint (25% of global GHG emissions are generated by food production).
It is fundamental to understand that "consuming local" will not by itself be enough to reduce our footprint, as Transport only contributes less than 10% of GHG emissions for most food products (falling to 0.5% for beef, because of its tremendous amount of GHG generated by land use and farm-stage emissions). However, it really does matter to avoid products that are air-freighted (because highly perishable) instead of imported by boat and to source from sustainable farms/companies.
If you have 1 first step to make, reducing beef and dairy consumption and shifting to poultry and plant-based alternatives will have the greatest impact on your carbon footprint.
To learn more, read in-depth the analysis from Our World in Data.
Buy Local Products. It may not be essential in terms of carbon footprint for some products but it's essential for fresh and perishable ones. It helps to support Singapore 30 / 30 Food Plan, secure food supplies, raise awareness on food production and supply chain. It is also an opportunity to be more creative with well known products. Promote your actions with the local farmers and suppliers: it benefits them and your image at the same time.
Look for certifications and labels. For products like eggs, vegetables and fish for instance, Singapore certified and accredited farms are under these quality assurance schemes:
90%
of the food consumed in Singapore is imported.
(SFA)
30%
Singapore aims at raising the local food production to 30% of their needs by 2030.
(Straits Times)
Edible Garden City champions the "Grow Our Own" movement – believing that growing your own food will reconnect one with nature, conserve natural resources, and cultivate a sense of community.
To do so, EGC’s Foodscaping team has built over 200 edible gardens for restaurants, hotels, schools, office buildings, and private residential homes, their Farm Production team grows fresh produce throughout Singapore, and their Education team drives a range of workshops and events from school farming programmes to corporate workshops, volunteer opportunities to full-on apprenticeships – to share the love for growing your own.
VertiVegie is a Singaporean Controlled Environment Farming Company.
By growing food locally in a controlled environment, they limit crop loss during production, increase shelf life for consumption & substitute imported food which contributes to major transportation and handling food losses.
Their vertical farm, powered by on-site solar generation, reduces land use, and their closed loop water systems use 90% less water use than field agriculture. Also, the hydro-nutrition food grade systems allow year round production without soil depletion and degradation.
They use:
- No Pesticides, Pollutants & Preservatives
- No Genetic Modification
- No Unethical Practices
ComCrop is the first urban commercial rooftop farm in Southeast Asia.
ComCrop comes from Community Crop, because not only do they use marginalised spaces to grow food, they also establish their farms near where people live (less transport and commute) and support marginalised communities (such as M.I.N.D.S.).
They use hydroponic systems, that use 90% less water than traditional farming, and climate-controlled environment system. They are also pesticide-free.
To contact them, click here.
Chew's Agriculture Pte Ltd is the first ISO 22000:2005 and HACCP certified farm in Singapore, with commitment to deliver high quality, wholesome and safe egg-products for consumers, and also the first Certified Humane® Egg Producer in Singapore.
Chew's designer eggs:
Organic selenium eggs, cage free eggs, omega 3 eggs, omega 6 eggs, zeaxanthin plus eggs, traditional black chicken eggs & kampong chicken eggs, corn + soya eggs, lower cholesterol brown shell eggs, extra-large lower cholesterol brown shell fresh eggs.
Please note there is a minimum order of 300 pieces for wholesale orders.
They can be contacted by email or telephone: 67937674
Buy Regional ASEAN Products. It may not be essential in terms of carbon footprint for some products but it's essential for fresh and perishable ones. It helps to support surroundings economies and local communities, secure food supplies, raise awareness on food production and supply chain. It is also an opportunity to be more creative with well known products.
Promote your actions with the local farmers and suppliers: it benefits them and your image at the same time.
Look for regional certifications and labels. See international certifications in the additional resources below.
When sourcing products, look at all the other sustainable aspects:
Some recognized international ecolabels for fish and seafood:
Other recognized certifications for food products recommended by WWF:
For sustainable Palm Oil, support PM Haze People's Movement to Stop Haze which encourages sustainable palm oil consumption and not the Palm Oil boycott. Palm oil is, according to PM Haze, the most land efficient oil crop. Furthermore, palm oil cultivation is the livelihood of many farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is, therefore, more sustainable to source Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) produced by responsible companies which do not engage in practices such as burning and deforestation.
Shiokfarm brings affordable and organic fruit and vegetables to families and companies in Singapore. Most of their products come from Malaysia and Thailand to limit the carbon footprint. They have a corporate offer "Fruitsintheoffice" to deliver fresh fruits to companies' office every week.
Their program allows to drastically reduce food waste as their members commit for a 6 month period and Shiokfarm commits with their farms for 2 years.
Quan Fa Organic Farm has been operating for more than 20 years, from a small organic vegetables retailer to one of the leading distributors in Singapore. Their produces are all sourced from the neighbouring countries of Cameron Highlands (Malaysia) and Thailand. All the produces are organically certified. They use no pesticides or harmful fertilizers and adopted a no plastic bag policy.
The Little Rice Company is a brand owned by Golden Sunland, a responsible seed-to-table rice-growing company based in Singapore. They partner with smallholder rice farmers in Myanmar and provide them with fair work conditions & wages through buyback schemes that ensure fairness and profits.
They also use non-hazardous chemicals on the crops (EU standards).
They redesigned their rice mill operations in order to repurpose secondary waste into useful by-products and energy, guiding farmer partners on sustainable growing guidelines, upcycling rice-by products, tracking and making visible the carbon footprint of their rice production.
They are a certified B-Corporation.
A shameful quantity of food does not make it to our plate because they don't meet standards in size, shape or color...
They are commonly called "ugly" food, although perfectly edible.
In Singapore, where most of the products are imported, "unwanted food" refers to fresh produces rejected because of cosmetic reasons or surplus, at the supply chain and retailer stages. They still can be consumed as it is or transformed into dishes, juices, sauces, etc.
By buying them, you can significantly decrease food waste. Furthermore, their price is usually lower.
When some products almost reach their shelf life, they can be discounted or blessed to staff.
1/3
of the food grown or prepared does not make it from farm or factory to fork. Mostly because they are sorted to visually appear "beautiful".(Drawdown)
US$2.6 trillion
is the estimated global economic, environmental, and social cost of food wastage, which is nearly equal to the GDP of France.
(FAO, 2014)
TreeDots is a B2B platform that enables suppliers to re-distribute their unsold inventory to organisations that can use them. Suppliers save money from otherwise discarded products and buyers get quality ingredients at lower prices.
thetreedots.com
you want to buy unwanted food
you want to sell surplus food
Obviously, growing your own produces will not cover all your needs in terms of fresh supplies. However, it has several benefits:
In addition, partnerships will support local community gardens and local urban farmers.
You do not need much space to get started:
Alternatively, a specialist can help you start your own garden.
If you cannot grow your own produce, prioritize local produces (labelled if possible). See above solution "Source Responsibly"
14%
of Leafy vegetables consumed in Singapore in 2019 were produced by local farms, 26% of eggs and 10% of fish.
(The Strait Times)
1,300
community gardens are maintained in Singapore.
(NParks. Find your closest garden)
More resources on how to start your own garden
Edible Garden City champions the "Grow Our Own" movement – believing that growing your own food will reconnect one with nature, conserve natural resources, and cultivate a sense of community.
To do so, EGC’s Foodscaping team has built over 200 edible gardens for restaurants, hotels, schools, office buildings, and private residential homes, their Farm Production team grows fresh produce throughout Singapore, and their Education team drives a range of workshops and events from school farming programmes to corporate workshops, volunteer opportunities to full-on apprenticeships – to share the love for growing your own.
They design and set up herbs and vegetable gardens for schools, homes, restaurants and institutions: from rock garden to rooftop garden, food garden, kampung farm or butterfly garden...
Grobrix is a Farming as a Service company: through a unique and fresh take on soilless vertical farming, Grobrix showcases sustainability and self-sufficiency whilst promoting both physical and mental health through fresher food, better nutrition and easier access to green exercise.
Replace single-use bottles by more sustainable options, such as reusable (e.g. glass) bottles that can be filled with filtered tap water and sealed on-site (for F&B outlets and office restaurants for instance). Some systems also allow you to have sparkling and still water for your consumers' choice.
x1,500
It takes 1,500 times more energy to produce a bottled water than to treat & distribute tap water.
(The University of Queensland)
91%
of the world’s plastic bottles are not recycled.(JerseyIslandHolidays)
Nordaq delivers a leading and sustainable premium solution for the global hotel and restaurant industry. This means that there is now a more profitable, sustainable and tasteful alternative to ordinary bottled water for all businesses.
They support restaurants, hotels, cafés and offices, produce premium water on-site with minimal environmental impact.
The « green journey » may feel overwhelming sometimes, but you are not alone.
Our Buddies have tried, succeeded, failed to implement change in their companies. They share their experience so you can learn, take shortcuts, get inspired and ask questions.
Everybody can become a Buddy and give back to the community; if you are keen, get in touch with us.
Entrepreneurial by nature, Claire started ShiokFarm in 2015 when realising the high prices for organic fruit and vegetables in Singapore. Based on the French AMAP model, in which Farmers and a community create a partnership in order to reduce food waste and cost, ShiokFarm aims to provide families and offices in Singapore with affordable organic fruit and vegetables while reducing food waste.
Starting with a small Facebook group, Claire has succeeded in making ShiokFarm an outstanding organic business. ShiokFarm received its BCorp certification in 2023.
My first job was with a major consulting company in Japan. I appreciated my time there, but was always yearning to do something with a greater direct impact, and something that gives me a greater sense of purpose. I am blessed to have the opportunity to travel the world, and be exposed to different perspectives, ways of living and available alternatives!
A series of serendipitous events led to the founding of merchandise.blue with two highly experienced and interesting friends. Merchandise.blue offers merchandise like uniforms, towels and bags in more environmentally progressive textiles made of materials like seaweed, organic cotton and recycled fishing nets.
When the opportunity to open Kizuna arose, it was clear that I wanted to apply similar values and principles to this physical space.
Tomo is a seasoned development professional having lived and worked in various corners of the world from the Tibetan plateau, Indian drylands, Indonesian tropics, to Japanese metropolises. He has extensive field experience working for international and local development NGOs across Asia and Africa, including Kopernik, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the World Bank. He was formerly an Assistant Professor at the Global Leadership Program at the University of Tokyo.
Tomo has a BA in Social Anthropology from Harvard College, a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and was an Asia Pacific Leadership Program Fellow (2008) and Innovation Fellow (2020) at the East-West Center. In 2014 Tomo was awarded the Dalai Lama’s Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award.
