Why the hospitality industry should lead on climate -with Philipp Kauffmann
We are looking back to an inspirational interview at our Future Food Convention 2020 with Philipp Kauffmann, the Founder of Original Beans, about the need and opportunity for the hospitality industry to take a lead in fighting climate issues.
The metaphor hospitality industry being “the phoenix rising from the ashes” of Philipp describes how much affected the industry is from the Covid-19 pandemic, but also their comeback and the chance to rise again, innovating and redefining their industry on the topic of climate change. He sees the chance in the hospitality industry to fully implement ambitions to reduce climate impacts and take a political standing.
Why does Philipp see so much potential and the need in this industry?
The answer seems quite simple: “What we eat matters so much more than we think.”
To stress his focus and argument on the hospitality industry he is using the research from the Project Drawdown and shows how the global goal of reducing 30% of the carbon emission can be done. Business as usual has to stop to prevent the rising and increasing vector of our ecological footprint in a combination of the estimated population growth.
We are right now in the critical decade between 2020 and 2030 where we still have the chance to change the narrative, and reduce carbon emission by 30%.
Hospitality industry has the chance to create a better, more sustainable, and healthy system to tackle climate change. Factors to reduce carbon emissions are among others the shift to green energy, reducing food waste, implementing a plant-rich-diet, and reducing\prevent the direct climate impact that products like chocolate can have on the environment.
For Philipp the whole responsibility is not just within the hospitality industry, the food system, in general, should change, because the climate crisis is to a large extent a food system crisis. BUT the hospitality industry can be the phoenix because this industry “is the one that has the fastest and most immediate impact.”
Original Beans is a best practice example of how economic efficiency and environmental protection are working hand in hand. Philipp comes from a family where sustainability is a family affair since the end of the 18th century. His family is more than engaged in sustainability topics and conservation. Following his ancestors path, he worked for the UN for about 5 years, and moved on to establish his own business Original Beans driven by the urge to take immediate climate action.
The vision of Original Beans is “together we regenerate what we consume”, and the mission is “together we taste the rare to preserve it.”
The tropical rainforest in Ecuador is the source for the cacao beans for their milk chocolate. Instead of exploiting resources here, they are achieving a positive climate balance of 42 percent. With every purchase of a chocolate bar, a tree is planted, right now they have planted over 2 million trees.
They are the leading premium organic retail brand in DACH, one of the leading craft brands for job creation in the hospitality industry, and the lead in “foodie” corporations with internationally renowned chefs.
“The bottom line is, if you want to do it today it is possible.”. Philipp said this in context about their zero-waste packaging. Having interviewed him you will fast get the feeling that this is his general drive and ambition when it comes to redefining business models towards regenerative systems and making a change.
We are thanking Philipp for this great talk and inspiration at our Future Food Convention 2020. We follow his next steps with great interest and we wish them continued success in their ambitions.
Watch the full interview here to learn more about Original Beans and Philipp’s belief in how the hospitality industry can take the lead in climate:
What is Holy Tisch?
Holy Tisch is a platform for innovators, change agents and all those working towards a better food system. As this can only work with united forces, Holy Tisch connects people from all parts of the ecosystem: producers, start-ups, investors, trade, brands, chefs, gastronomes, NGOs and the media.
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