Running a food business is a messy affair. There are wrappers, cups, napkins, and leftovers. For a long time, the "fast casual" industry ignored the environmental cost of convenience. But times have changed, and so have we. At Go Bagels, we recognize that we have a responsibility to the neighborhoods we serve—and that includes keeping them clean and green.
We are on a mission to close the loop on waste. It is a journey, not a destination, but here are the steps we are taking right now to build a more sustainable bagel shop.
1. The War on Plastic The single-use plastic crisis is real. We are actively transitioning our packaging away from plastics and Styrofoam toward paper, cardboard, and compostable plant-based materials.
- Straws: We have moved to paper or PLA (plant-based) straws.
- Bags: You won’t find plastic shopping bags here. We use recycled paper bags that are sturdy enough to hold a dozen bagels but break down easily in recycling streams.
- Cups: Our hot cups are sourced from suppliers committed to sustainable forestry practices.
2. Fighting Food Waste
Bakeries are notorious for food waste because everything has to be fresh. However, throwing away perfectly good food is a tragedy. Go Bagels employs a few strategies to keep our bagels out of the landfill:
- Smart Batching: We use historical data to predict exactly how many bagels we need to bake each hour, reducing the amount of leftovers at the end of the day.
- Community Donation: At the end of the night, edible leftover bagels don't go in the trash. We partner with local food pantries and shelters to ensure that our surplus feeds people in need, not dumpsters.
- Repurposing: As mentioned in our "Better with a Bagel" blog, we encourage our chefs and customers to use day-old bagels for chips, croutons, and puddings.
3. Energy & Efficiency Our ovens are the heart of our shop, but they use a lot of energy. We are investing in modern, high-efficiency equipment that retains heat better, meaning we use less gas or electricity to keep them at baking temperature. We also use LED lighting in our stores and low-flow water fixtures to reduce our utility footprint.
4. Encouraging Reusables We love it when you bring your own mug! We are working on loyalty incentives for customers who bring reusable travel cups for their morning coffee. It’s a small action, but if every customer did it, we would save thousands of cups a year.
Sustainability is a "Wholesome Loop." When we reduce waste, we save money, which allows us to buy better ingredients, which supports better farmers, which leads to a healthier planet. We know we aren't perfect, but we are committed to getting better every single day. Thanks for helping us keep Go Bagels green.
