Sustainability is a low priority for procurement

During research conducted for the Hotelier Middle East Hospitality Procurement Report 2016, just 13% of respondents said that they would “only do business with suppliers that can prove their green credentials.”

That is despite a vast majority of respondents suggesting that sustainability and green business initiatives are in fact very important to their business. This raises the question of how well the sustainable credentials of prospective suppliers are being checked by procurement teams in the region.

Those with a keen interest in green issues question the reliability of organic and sustainable certification systems per se.

It is an issue that interests chef Darren Velvick of The Croft restaurant at Dubai Marriot Harbour Hotel & Suites, who says he tries to use organically certified ingredients as much as possible on his restaurant menu.

“I use Ripe to supply the Croft, who claim they test the farms that they use with ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology),” Velvick told Hotelier Middle East. The Ripe company statement, which Velvick quoted to Hotelier, states: “All of the farms we work with have local certification from ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology) and many of them have international certifications too. And it’s not just our farms that are certified, Ripe’s processes are certified organic by ESMA too.”

“For home I go to the farmers market in Bay Avenue and again I’m choosey who I buy from," Velvick continues. "I normally choose the farms I know, for example Green Heart Organic.

"As a consumer you really are putting your trust in the certifiers. Personally, I stay clear from USDA Certified Organic,” Velvick adds, explaining that their certification process has been called in to question in the news.

To access the Hotelier Middle East’s Hospitality Procurement Report 2016 in full, click here