Author: Kerstin Seeger

* Creativity in the choice of recipe
* Willingness to cooperate
* Knowledge of vegetarian and vegan cuisine
* Courage and humor
* Communication skills
* Add as desired: Joy, passion, commitment

Sustainability tastes good - and pays off! The food service industry in particular shows how ecological and fair trade can go hand in hand with enjoyment and profitability.
Our recipe tip for your business: Regional. Seasonal. Organic. Fair. Waste-free.
Use fresh, preferably unprocessed (organic) ingredients from the region, supplemented by fair-trade products with a clear origin. Avoid food waste by using leftovers creatively and plan portions cleverly - e.g. with smaller portions of meat, but high-quality and consciously used.

Here are five specific tips for your sustainable day-to-day catering business:

1. Small but mighty: less meat - more flavor. Guests appreciate creative vegetarian alternatives or "less, but better".
Make your guests aware of the changes to your portions. Plan a day on which you present your new concept in finger-food style and create space and time to communicate your decision.
Inform your guests: Why are organic and regional products important? Invite an association that deals with this topic to a themed evening and serve your new dishes here.

2. Throw away less: Clear menu planning, flexible daily specials and good stock management reduce waste and costs.
Recipe your dishes precisely. Weigh every ingredient. Calculate the portions to be able to make accurate orders (cooking loss, dressing loss, peeling/paring loss etc.)
Set up a short meeting after the service: Which portions are too big? What is thrown away?

3. Good choice meets good effect: organic products, regional supply chains and Fairtrade ingredients make your kitchen sustainable.
Inform your guests about the change in your menu plan and take them with you on your journey. Turn your guests into co-creators. What ideas and specific suggestions do your guests have?

4. Reusable instead of garbage: use reusable straws, serve milk, jam or ketchup in glass containers instead of plastic portions - hygienic, stylish and environmentally friendly.

5. Celebrate sustainably: don't waste leftovers at weddings & events
- Provide guest containers
- cooperate with food rescue organizations
- offer leftovers via "Too Good To Go

Join us - for a gastronomy that has a future!

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

---

This recipe is from
Frank and Marius

* 1 pinch Desire for new insights & skills

* 1 handful Social-ecological commitment, preferably local & concrete

* 1 shot Corporate culturecharacterized by Participation & commitment

* 1 bunch Networking with organizations oriented towards the common good

* 1 well-filled Database for volunteering opportunities at the location

* Optional: Intermediary organization as an experienced bridge between business & civil society

* Optional: internalr **Corporate Volunteering Coordinatorin** as a driving force

Preparation time: Individually scalable
Results in: Motivated employees, meaningful relationships & sustainable impact

Corporate volunteering programs help motivate employees, build team spirit, promote community involvement in the immediate environment, and enhance a company's reputation for corporate citizenship. It has long been clear to most companies that investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) supports their business goals in the long term. So why not introduce a corporate volunteering program where employees can get involved for the common good? Everyone can be involved in the search for local organizations oriented towards the common good: Who already has contacts? Which areas would employees like to get a taste of?

👩‍🍳 PREPARATION:

1. Preparation:
Temper the corporate culture towards openness, curiosity and a focus on the common good. Get management on board - ideally by acting as a role model.

2. Simplify partner selection:
Intermediary organizations help to establish contact with suitable non-profit partners, clarify framework conditions and support the collaboration.
➤ An overview of local intermediary organizations is provided by the Bundesverband UPJ e.V. (https://www.upj.de/mittlernetzwerk)

3. database:
Create an overview of local initiatives, NGOs and associations or join existing platforms. Important: good filter options according to skills, time budget & interests.

4. Activate employees:
Make opportunities visible - e.g. via internal communication channels, action days or experience reports. Matchmaking tools or team campaigns encourage participation.

5. Creating free spaces:
Recognize time for commitment as part of working time - e.g. via a fixed number of hours per year or as part of team days.

6. Networking & appreciation:
Regularly create space for exchange between employees and organizations - e.g. through "volunteering meetups" or success stories on the intranet.

7. Reflect & develop further:
Obtain feedback, make the impact visible, document success factors - and continue to spice things up.

---

🍽️ SERVING SUGGESTION:

Corporate volunteering tastes particularly good when employees are allowed to contribute their own ideas and the activities are in the context of the SDGs. This kind of commitment not only strengthens the team spirit, but also the company's social profile.

---

Tip: Those who embark on a "date with commitment" often discover more than just new skills - namely meaning, connection and effectiveness.

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

---

This recipe is from Pia & Janina from sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

* temporarily unused, vacant rooms/buildings
* Communication/contact with seeking stakeholders.
* Desire for "life in the booth" and synergy building
* Arrangements or booking calendar
* Second key, or similar.
* If applicable, contract and insurance check for the advanced
Space utilization

Many spaces are empty outside of core business hours: be it large or small meeting rooms, or even event halls and gymnasiums. Both profit and non-profit organizations (such as church congregations or universities) often have rooms that are not used at certain times. At the same time, initiatives, associations or e.g. yoga teachers are often desperately looking for cheap or free rooms for meetings, workshops or yoga classes (mostly in the evening or on weekends). ...actually a win-win situation!?
So if you feel like socializing, bringing people from the outside into your space, possibly forming synergies, or at least gaining some benevolent publicity, why not share your temporarily unused space!

1.
Identify appropriate spaces and appropriate times.

2.
Clarify legal requirements and check insurances if necessary.

3.
Get the OK from decision makers in your organization.

4.
Ensure internal coordination (Who is the contact person? You yourself? Where is the room sharing registered? If necessary, involve janitors, cleaning staff)

5.
Communication to employees & invitation to share the offer

6.
Public communication, if necessary, via website or other platforms (depending on the size of the company)

7.
Conclude agreement with room sharers (e.g. regarding keys, regular leaving of the room, occurrence of a damage case)

8.
Share spaces - share joy!

Room sharing can initially be tried out as an "experiment" on a small scale. Perhaps your colleagues have a need? In this way, the company can also support its employees in their voluntary or part-time work.

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

---

This recipe is from 3 people from sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

* Strategic considerations
* Strategy discussions or workshops
* A new unique selling proposition


An ECONOMY is not necessarily about maximizing profit. Entrepreneurial ideas are realized for their own sake, because entrepreneurs and employees follow their calling. With such a motivational situation, frugality can be considered in the company. As a self-determined strategy, in order not to lose the view for the substantial, and to keep the original motivation for the enterprise. Quite incidentally one receives thereby also a unique selling proposition!

Six examples of frugality strategies.
(so-called "sufficiency strategies").¹
- Output limitation allows a stronger focus on quality improvement and creates freedom in terms of content and time.
- Limiting the number of employees can increase the attractiveness of jobs and improve communication and processes due to the company's manageable structure.
- By narrowing the geographical radius of action, value creation can be strengthened in the region and more individual customer advice can be offered.
- Those who limit profit put the original purpose of the company in the foreground. Decisions are based on meaning, on (product) quality, and not on profit.
- If the entrepreneur's wage is limited, the owners are guided by the conviction that their own work is not worth disproportionately more than that of the employees and therefore pay themselves the same or minimally higher hourly wage. This can lead to employees identifying more strongly with the company than in companies with high wage differentials.
- A limitation in terms of fossil mobility puts the focus on transport that is as emission-free as possible - also in the supply chain.

Could such aspects also be relevant for your company?

–
1) To be read in "Beseelte UnternehmerInnen" by Christel Maurer

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

---

This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger