Restaurant

The project consists of maintaining the original ecosystems of the restaurant's region. High-quality fishing has no severe subsistence problems, as its products have great national recognition, which motivates its careful protection and orderly exploitation.

But because the area is renowned for its excellent fish, other native products have been neglected. These are:
- cereals originating in the area (such as the wheat of the Marina)
- sheep of indigenous breeds (such as the guirra race)
- cultivated and wild varieties of indigenous edible vegetables (such as some varieties of pumpkins, shepherd's raimet, etc.).

Pep Romany, from Pont Sec, collaborates in developing and using these exceptional products in his culinary creations. He has also become a staunch defender of these products, proselytising them because he understands that public knowledge and education in their use is necessary to ensure that they remain available and that they will therefore continue to contribute to maintaining the difference and originality of the flavours and textures of the dishes that include them. These ingredients and these unique ways of using them form the fundamental pillars of the cuisine of the territory make his cuisine unique.

Circular Strategy: Regenerate

Country: Spain

Pont Sec

Up-cycling raw materials and preventing waste

Denia is a nationally recognised paradise for catching and eating fish and has been since ancient times.

The past fishermen had limited markets and resources, usually nearby. The difficulties of transporting and preserving highly perishable foods, such as fish and cephalopods, forced fishermen and families living in fishing areas to develop economic preservation techniques that reduced food loss and made consumption possible at times of the year when fishing trips with very rudimentary means were not possible.

One such ancient salt preservation technique that is very popular on the Mediterranean coast is known by its generic name: salting.

Similar to this preservation technique, but without salt, is that of sun-drying. Among the seafood products that are dried in the sun, the king in the case of the Marina, the region where Denia is located, is the octopus.

Acceptance is needed in the local restaurant sector to allow these techniques and their resulting products to have a tangible impact on the population.
In addition to preserving the techniques, creating a demand for them is necessary.
In this creation of demand, it is necessary to have consumer involvement through education and information on the properties and organoleptic values of the product. It is important to include the product in preparations by the best exponents of the local restaurant industry where the product is produced.

Circular Strategy: Regenerate

Country: Spain

Izabella Boutique Hotel & Szikra Restaurant

Green Farm-to-table

The company is conscious of how plants are grown. Its management team initiated a green farming project in order to cultivate all the bio green ingredients (vegetables and fruits) to serve the restaurant’s needs for vegetables and fruits. The farm is located in a nearby village, its maintenance is being done by qualified staff. By starting the farm, financial savings were recorded as being an impact of the farm’s operation as significantly cheaper ingredients can be used in the restaurant.

Green farm-to-table provides a viable solution for issues such as: concerns about freshness, nutritional value, food safety, environmental degradation and depletion of the local economy, etc

Apart from the ethical and sustainability factors, locally sourced fresh ingredients are said to taste much better. Consumers today are more health-conscious and are more discerning about their food. The ethically grown plants at a farm-to-table restaurant, suit the modern consumers’ ideology. There is a closer connection with and a greater appreciation of the food at such restaurants.

Circular Strategy: Optimize

Country: Romania

Izabella Boutique Hotel & Szikra Restaurant

Using local suppliers

As many of those businesses which operate based on circular economy concepts, Isabella Hotel and Szikra restaurant, are both using local suppliers/providers for a variety of consumables (especially needed in the hotel, room cleaning, soap, bottled drinking water for the customers etc). This is not bringing financial savings (in many cases non-local suppliers offer more advantageous prices), nevertheless, it is rather a question of CE attitude, doing less harm to the environment and use local.

At the same time, using local products not only reduces the carbon footprint of the business but also has the potential to educate consumers/large public in general about the importance of taking care of our environment and that the first steps should be taken by each one of us individually.

Circular Strategy: Optimize

Country: Romania

Zsigmond Mill Inn

Personal networking

There are no marketing means used for promoting the business, it is all based on personal networking (through personal contacts, and friends) - in a more organic way. Therefore, there are no printing costs involved, no resources used for this purpose which also contributes to the circularity of the business.

Circular Strategy: Regenerate

Country: Romania

Järvsö Creperie

Grow and use in the restaurant

The Grow on spot and use it in the restaurant - project is about Zero food waste in the kitchen.

Guests' food scraps become composted through bokashi buckets, are buried and become energy in the kitchen garden. Cooking with seasonal ingredients with a focus on goods from the countryside and the forest, the owner is taking care of as many wild products from forests and land as possible. There are at least 8 individual products that they process and serve.

"We grow our own raw materials in the kitchen garden which means that we become self-sufficient in at least 8 raw materials all year round and the garden will also provide the business with flowers and garnish from May-September "- says the owner.

They use the freezer, they ferment and dry raw materials in late summer for the restaurant business on the mountain, which is open Dec-April.
Raw materials from own cultivation and harvests from other local producers and the forest are used in the other location, in the village.

Circular Strategy: Regenerate

Country: Sweden

Järvsö Creperie

Socially responsible consumption

Järvsö is a small but well-known tourist area in both summer and winter. The region Gävleborg has a general low education and high unemployment rate compared to the rest of Sweden. We always have a joint seasonal start when we go through our sustainability vision, personnel routines and work environment.

The owner of Järvsö Creperie works consciously, in several ways, to highlight and talk about young people's mental health in the workplace. They sponsor an organization that tackles this issue every year. The creperie has a collaboration with Järvsö upper secondary school to whom they offer internships.

"In our business, we must have our own explicit educational assignment. We will always in some way provide information that educates and creates an understanding of the environmental cycle that we work with. It should be visible in the garden, shop, suite and restaurant." -says the owner.

They are constantly working to extend the seasons in order to secure jobs and create a sustainable workplace for employees.
A circular calendar is used to visualise what they mean by seasonal raw materials, which also has an educational effect.

Circular Strategy: Regenerate

Country: Sweden

Bread 41

Biodigester

Moving to Zero Waste:

As a business, Bread41 are being innovative in their move to zero waste.

This is an ongoing process that requires continuous improvement and evaluation of the waste reduction practices identifying opportunities for improvement.
They installed a biodigester 6 months ago to convert their organic waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.

The bio-digester process retains the increasingly important nutrients that would otherwise be lost to the breakdown and decay of food waste in bins or at landfills, as methane and Carbon Dioxide are released into the air. Since installing, they have diverted 215+ tons of waste from landfills and 634.23 tons of C02 from landfills.

Circular Strategy: Optimize

Country: Ireland

Bread 41

Removal of single use cups

Eradication of single use cups:
For over two years, the bakery has not sold any single use cups from Monday to Friday, and from the 1st February 2023 they extended this to 7 days a week. So far they have saved over 31,165 cups going to landfill.

Circular Strategy: Loop

Country: Ireland

Cill Ulta

Anaerobic Digester

Anaerobic Digester uses feedstock from site, creating biogas and natural fertiliser.

This acts as a demonstration model that reduces food waste but also demonstrates the adoption of green energy systems such as biogas created from food waste. This is an important project because as a rural region, sustainable green energy has seen a slow uptake due to the costs associated with the setup and technology. In Cill Ulta we have seen what price increases in energy can result in structural damage and lack of interest.

The AD system in Cill Ulta is the first automated anaerobic digester in Ireland which reduces waste and produces renewable energy and natural fertiliser to reuse as plant and vegetable biostimulants promoting circular bioeconomy principles.

Cill Ulta is an SEC mentor and is located in a decarbonisation zone, therefore we have the opportunity to demonstrate and showcase to visitors various renewable energies. We have spaces for visitors such as the Horticulture therapy space, sensory garden and biogas that acts as a renewable energy source for our small kitchen space – the goal is to demonstrate to visitors to the site that waste is valuable and that it can be used as a feedstock that is later used as a cooking facility.

Circular Strategy: Loop

Country: Ireland

Good Day Deli

Electric Van

The Company decided to:

- reduce the environmental impact of their daily business transport.
To do that they invested in an electric van, that cost around 25% more than a petrol van, at the time of purchase.

- make a change regarding their electricity provider that was only 30% renewable, and 70% fossil fuels. They chose “Energia” which produces 100% renewable energy.

Circular Strategy: Optimize

Country: Ireland

Good Day Deli

Zero Waste - Circularity in the Food System

This project ties in with zero waste, expressing the desire to reshape waste management in relation to the circularity of their food system.
They do this through the reuse of ingredients:
- they reuse lemon peels as garnish once they have been boiled and caramelised;
- they extract fruit syrup that cannot be used to create drinks, etc.

Also, towards zero waste, menu design and stock control reduce excess food and GDD works closely with suppliers to use returnable containers. They also separate the various wastes for composting through a biodigester, trying to promote sustainability in the various stages of their work.

Circular Strategy: Optimize

Country: Ireland