Food, ESG and sustainability: Chefs, restaurants and hotels are all part of a winning recipe
In the corporate and financial world, there is a tendency to see sustainability and ESG (environment, social and governance) responsibilities and achievements mainly from a valuation perspective, as the popular mantra of 'doing well by doing good' succinctly expresses.
This mantra creates a risk that monetary value should be the ultimate measure of success. The current backlash against ESG is an outcome of such short-sighted approach to value. This creates a more serious risk of financialisation, where our financial markets, in pursuit of annually calculated returns, become disconnected from building a green and equitable real economy in the long term.
Therefore, the corporate world, policy makers and academia should all work together to create an appropriate set of values that inform valuation calculations in transitioning to a net-zero world and green economy.
Food in the equation
How does food come into the equation? My academic research has led me to coordinating with leading culinary and hospitality institutions in Hong Kong, Macau and Tokyo on organising events around 'Food, ESG and Sustainability'. There's a good reason for this.
Our universal food and agricultural traditions and practices – going back millennia – are reinterpreted by contemporary culinary entrepreneurs and chefs to provide us food for thought in searching for new values for the corporate world in integrating sustainability and ESG in their business models. We have held events in a range of restaurants including those with Michelin Green Star status and hotels meeting the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria.
As one of the world's fastest growing gastronomy capitals and a leading destination for food tourism, Dubai has an immense repository of culinary knowledge and expertise. And it's growing fast, including 1,200 new restaurant licences across various categories and cuisines in 2024 alone. This reflects Dubai's unique multicultural identity expressed through the culinary arts and is embedded within the deep tradition of hospitality in the Dubai and the UAE. This is a major asset.
The culinary, food and hospitality industries are naturally more disposed to discussing value and valuations because humanity's accumulated knowledge and practices over the centuries are central to their business models and financial
These events in East Asia have brought together the food and hospitality worlds, businesses and financial institutions to collectively re-imagine and enhance our ESG and sustainability frameworks and policies by learning from successful chefs, restaurants and hotels that have made sustainability and green practices the essence of their business models.
In my own academic research, I aim to re-define what is economically valuable in transitioning to a net-zero, socially equitable and sustainable green economy.
The United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organisation's
But at the same time, these agricultural and culinary practices are a huge reservoir of human value and knowledge systems that go back millennia and define our relationship with nature.
So, how can our modern concerns and research related to ESG and sustainability learn from (and enter into a dialogue with) the traditional and modern methods and values in the culinary and hospitality sectors?
Successful contemporary culinary entrepreneurs and hospitality businesses with roots in universal traditional knowledge and values can contribute to debates in the corporate and policy worlds on changing the financialised mind-sets regarding ESG and sustainability frameworks.
More food for ESG thought?
The writer is a senior lecturer (and ex-director for Social Responsibility) at Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
20 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE petrol, diesel prices for August 2025 announced
The UAE, on July 31, has announced fuel prices for August. After prices slightly increased in July, they will be relatively the same in August. The new rates will apply from August 1 and are as follows: Super 98 petrol will cost Dh2.69 a litre, compared to Dh2.70 in July. Special 95 petrol will cost Dh2.57 per litre, compared to the current rate of Dh2.58. E-Plus 91 petrol will cost Dh2.50 a litre, compared to Dh2.51 a litre in July. Diesel will be charged at Dh2.78 a litre, compared to the current rate of Dh2.63. As fuel prices play a crucial role in influencing inflation, stable petrol rates help keep transportation costs and the prices of other goods under control. The UAE continues to rank among the 25 countries with the lowest petrol prices globally, with an average of Dh2.58 per litre. Since UAE deregulated petrol prices in 2015 and aligned them with global rates, the rates are revised at the end of every month.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
Japanese bonds log weekly foreign outflows on BOJ policy caution
Foreign investors pulled money out of Japanese long-term bonds for a second week through July 26 as they cautiously waited for the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) monetary policy decision for clues about the pace of its potential interest rate hikes. According to data from Japan's Ministry of Finance released on Thursday, foreign investors withdrew a net 184.6 billion yen ($1.24 billion) from Japanese long-term bonds following 990.7 billion yen worth of net sales in the previous week. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Thursday but raised its inflation forecast for the current fiscal, saying risks to the price outlook were "roughly balanced," a sign of its increasing conviction that Japan will make progress towards meeting the prerequisite for further interest rate hikes. Foreigners have, however, still invested approximately 10.89 trillion yen into long-term Japanese bonds so far this year compared with about 266 billion yen worth of net sales in the same period last year. Japanese short-term bills faced net foreign outflows of 1.95 trillion yen last week, which reversed a net 1.9 trillion yen weekly purchase the prior week. Japanese stocks, meanwhile, attracted a net 743.3 billion yen worth of foreign money, the largest weekly cross-border investment since May 3, driven by optimism over a long-awaited trade deal with the U.S. Japanese investors added a net 206.3 billion yen worth of foreign stocks in a second successive week of net purchases in overseas markets. They, however, divested a net 331.6 billion yen worth of foreign long-term bonds, ending their six-weeks-long trend of net purchases. ($1 = 148.8400 yen)
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Zero-waste facades: Emirates Extrusion's green building bet
Earlier this year, Emirates Extrusion Factory (EEF), a Dubai-based aluminium extrusion company with a 30-year legacy in the UAE's construction industry, and a subsidiary of Dubai Investments, signed a partnership with UCS Green Solutions to manufacture what may well be the region's most sustainable curtainwall system. On paper, it's an industrial deal. But its implications stretch from material science to climate policy, from construction sites to government net-zero ambitions. This initiative not only reflects EEF's core values but also aligns with Dubai Investments' group-wide sustainability approach and drive, further reinforcing the strategic shift towards decarbonisation and circular innovation across the group's industrial portfolio. A game-changer for façade engineering At the heart of the new partnership is the UCS Green System, a patented, modular curtainwall solution designed to eliminate fabrication waste while boosting thermal efficiency and reducing time on site. Sreekumar Brahmanandan, General Manager and Board Director of EEF said: 'We produce extruded aluminium profiles customised for this system, which arrives at site 90 per cent pre-finished. That means no cutting, no drilling, no fabrication waste - just streamlined installation with improved thermal performance.' The benefits are as pragmatic as they are ecological. The system claims energy savings of up to 35 per cent, with improved U-values due to integrated polyamide thermal breaks, and a façade structure that is fully recyclable and compliant with green building standards like LEED, Estidama, and Dubai's own green code. Cutting costs, not corners One of the more stubborn challenges in green construction has been the so-called 'greenium' - the higher upfront cost associated with environmentally friendly solutions. But Sreekumar says this system turns that logic on its head. 'While there is an initial premium on materials, the time savings during installation at over 50 per cent more than make up for it. You also reduce labour requirements, eliminate the need for scaffolding, and save on long-term energy and maintenance costs.' The curtainwall system is also designed with integrated drainage channels to ensure leak-proof performance and uses hidden fastening systems to maintain clean, modern aesthetics - factors that matter just as much in a skyline like Dubai's, where form and function are equally prized. From Doha to Sharjah: A scalable vision The UCS Green System is already in play on major projects, including Al Nakheel Tower West Bay and Al Faisal Tower in Doha. 'We also have projects in Sharjah and Ethiopia in the pipeline,' notes Sreekumar, underscoring the system's regional relevance and growing market appeal. With EEF's expansive manufacturing capacity and UCS's proprietary system, Sreekumar believes the product is ready for mass-market adoption. 'This isn't just for boutique eco-projects. The scalability, speed of assembly, and regulatory compliance make it ideal for residential, commercial, and public-sector buildings.' A façade for the future As the building sector prepares for increasingly stringent regulations and a shift towards circular economy models, EEF sees this partnership as part of a broader innovation arc. 'In the future, we'll see façades that can self-regulate thermal conditions, generate solar power through building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and use AI-driven monitoring to enhance energy performance,' says Sreekumar . 'We are already laying the groundwork for that reality.' For EEF, whose legacy includes shaping the aluminium infrastructure behind many of the Gulf's architectural landmarks, this green pivot is as much about evolution as it is about leadership.
