Green-On reduces packaging and food waste
Sustainability initiatives increase Green-On staff retention and customer loyalty. Located in Richmond's business park, Green-On is a salad bar that is working to reduce packaging and food waste. Business owner and head chef Frankie Cox lived overseas for more than 5 years working in the hospitality industry and moved back to Melbourne to share her experience and inspire people to eat with purpose.
After brainstorming a few ideas, Frankie decided to open a salad bar in November 2021. Wanting to be as closed loop as possible, Green-On offered reusable Returnr containers to their customers from the beginning.
What it means for the business
Green-On developed an easy-to-use system where customers can either pay a $6 deposit for the container or swap with another container on their next visit. Green-On offers a free meal if a customer has purchased 15 meals in the reusable container.
"Using reusable containers has also increased customers' loyalty."
What it means for customers
Customers love the convenience of the reusable containers, and they appreciate the opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment. As Green-On is conveniently located in a business park with a number of offices nearby, it is easy for customers to get their meal in reusable containers. About 50% of customers are using reusable containers which saves on purchasing single-use packaging. The Green-On team regularly receive positive feedback on their efforts to be sustainable.
The impact
Every week they serve more than 300 meals in reusable containers, diverting thousands of disposable containers ending up in landfill each year. Following their lead, many offices now have set up their own reusable sets of containers and cutlery.
By promoting their drive for sustainability, staff retention has been very high. Many people seek to work at Green-On due to their ethos of reducing waste, minimising use of harsh chemicals and creating a positive impact in the hospitality industry, said Frankie.
By working with Waste Ninja since they opened, they saved more than 13,000L of food going into the landfill. Learn more about their impact.
What's next?
Green-On continues to work with their customers and suppliers to reduce packaging waste and initiates many conversations and actions to promote sustainability.