Together towards sustainable dining - Cocreating behavioral change interventions with restaurants

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Behavioral Science
• Food Service Management

Background:

• Sustainable food choices in restaurants are crucial for climate goals.
• Behavioral change interventions offer a promising strategy for promoting sustainability in the food sector.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the successful implementation of behavioral interventions in restaurants to promote sustainable food choices.
• To identify barriers and facilitators for restaurants adopting sustainable food practices.

Main Methods:

• A multi-year co-creation project involving 32 restaurants and consultant chefs.
• Providing knowledge on sustainable meal preparation and behavioral interventions.
• Collaborative design and mixed-methods testing of interventions, with researcher and chef support.

Main Results:

• Four participating restaurants successfully increased the uptake of sustainable menu options.
• High participant enthusiasm for sustainability knowledge, particularly sustainable meal preparation.
• Significant dropout rates due to psychological and practical barriers, including customer response fears and time constraints.

Conclusions:

• While co-created interventions can increase sustainable food choices, implementation faces significant hurdles.
• Future research should focus on mitigating practical barriers for restaurants.
• Recommendations include emphasizing sustainable meal preparation, customer co-creation, and integrating sustainability into culinary education.