Provincial Council and Basque Culinary Center Join Efforts to Lead the Change Towards Sustainable Restoration
The Sustainability Department of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and Basque Culinary Center sign a collaboration agreement to promote sustainability and circular economy in the restaurant sector, through a sector diagnosis.
This agreement represents a significant step towards building a more sustainable and responsible restaurant sector in Gipuzkoa, promoting collaboration between institutions and research centers to address environmental and economic challenges effectively.
The Sustainability Deputy, José Ignacio Asensio, and the Director of Basque Culinary Center, Joxe Mari Aizega, have formalized a collaboration agreement aimed at promoting sustainable and circular practices in the restaurant sector of Gipuzkoa.
Under this agreement, the Sustainability Department and Basque Culinary Center will focus their research activities on restaurants, identifying areas for improvement and opportunities in terms of product reuse and valorization before they are discarded. The main objective will be to carry out a comprehensive diagnosis of the sustainability and circular economy in the restaurant sector in Gipuzkoa.
Among the objectives of the agreement are: obtaining a detailed diagnosis of the restaurant sector in Gipuzkoa in terms of sustainability and circular economy, identifying barriers and opportunities for the implementation of sustainable and circular economy practices, and conducting a pilot test applying these practices in one or more surveyed establishments. To support this initiative, the Sustainability Department of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa will provide an economic contribution of 64,000 euros.
This agreement aligns with the Comprehensive Urban Waste Management Plan of Gipuzkoa (PIGRUG 2019-2030), which establishes specific actions to improve waste management in the territory, including the prevention of food waste and the promotion of circular economy in the hospitality sector. Specifically, in Gipuzkoa, it is estimated that 123,000 tons of food are wasted per year, with the economic and environmental cost that this entails.
Basque Culinary Center, internationally recognized as a reference in gastronomy, and through BCC Innovation, its technological center in gastronomy, has been working for years to expand knowledge about the food system of Gipuzkoa and to identify actions that promote circular economy in the food sector in the territory.
This agreement represents a significant step towards building a more sustainable and responsible restaurant sector in Gipuzkoa, promoting collaboration between institutions and research centers to address environmental and economic challenges effectively.