June Workplace Insights and Trends Fresh Out the Pantry

Prior to 2024, much of the sustainability conversation was around what to do with waste once it happens. Although that is still very important, the conversation has shifted to focus on how to prevent waste in the first place. Contrary to what I, Robot, and other popular dystopian movies may make it seem, technology can be used, in this case, as a force of good. 

Finding opportunities to minimize waste can be difficult if you don't know where it's happening. Technology allows us to uncover where waste is happening and unlock opportunities to streamline and consolidate efforts to minimize waste. New research from Capgemini found that 50% of senior executives believe in the power of technology to create more reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. 

The study goes even further, saying that the number of executives who believe in the business case for sustainability increased threefold—from 21% in 2022 to a whopping 63% in 2023. In addition, 52% of business executives stated their sustainability plans for the next 12-18 months are likely to increase (compared to just 14% who said they were likely to decrease).

You don't know what you are wasting across your company's office food service if you can't see the ins and outs of your program at a glance. The Crafty Platform allows you to see ALL your product lists, orders, inventory, spend and operations in one central place to find opportunities to create efficiencies and minimize waste easily. 

• Central Orders: Online marketplaces may be convenient, but this ordering style, especially in bulk, can have devastating results. Amazon's carbon emissions grew by 18% in 2021, generating 71.54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in one year. Centralizing orders minimizes the impact of long-distance shipping and additional packaging.
• Order Automation: Smart order automation reduces product waste and keeps spending on track. The Crafty Platform uses periodic automatic replacement (PAR) levels that react to the ebbs and flows of your workplace consumption, so inventory levels are just right.

Are you looking to incorporate more sustainable practices into your office? Crafty's Sustainability Report is full of actionable (and easy!) ways to do so. 

In 2021, people in the U.S. spent nearly $50 billion on vitamins and dietary supplements to fill nutritional gaps in their diets. The days of taking a handful of vitamins may be a thing of the past. Younger generations are pulling from the functional wellness playbook and eating or drinking their vitamins.

Lifesum's 2024 report found that "snackable supplements" such as energy-boosting bars, gut-friendly trail mixes and drinks that promote sleep are on the rise. The report outlined the top priorities for Gen Z and Millennials:

• Sustain energy (73%)
• Promote gut health (65%)
• Support mental wellness (61%)
• Enhance skincare (46%)
• Promote balanced hormones (43%)
• Support good sleep (40%)

Investing in food options is not just a perk play but a productivity play. An article by the Harvard Business Review says it perfectly. "Some foods, like pasta, bread, cereal and soda, release their glucose quickly, leading to a burst of energy followed by a slump," says the article. "Others, like high-fat meals (think cheeseburgers and BLTs), provide more sustained energy but require our digestive system to work harder, reducing oxygen levels in the brain and making us groggy." 

The key is finding the right mix of products that both appeal to the taste and habitual preferences of your employees while also curating those options to get the desired work results you want. Here are a few pantry picks that may be worth exploring:

Did you know that a Coca-Cola bottle weighed 21 grams just ten years ago? The news is in, and The Coca-Cola Company is reporting that it will be downsizing bottles across its portfolio of soda brands (Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and more) to 18.5 grams, which is approximately a 12% reduction in weight—one small step for Coca-Cola Co., and one giant leap in our race toward a more sustainable planet. 

Now, a few grams may not seem like a lot, but simply shaving off a few grams is projected to reduce the amount of CO2 produced by around 18,000 tons (equivalent to taking nearly 17,000 cars off the road!). 

We like to see that even small changes can yield great results. Less weight means less plastic and, therefore, less petroleum. Small gains like a few grams per bottle can add up quickly with the number of people who drink Coca-Cola products. The lighter-weight bottles will reduce new plastic use by around 800 million bottles in 2025 versus 2024.