Sustainability policies adoption within Italian Michelin-starred restaurants: From external drivers to costs

The purpose of the research is to investigate the increasing importance of the role of sustainability in high-end restaurants, specifically in those awarded Michelin stars. The focus is on the role sustainability plays as a crucial element in the state-of-the-art of fine-dining business given that restaurants are challenged to reconsider the noteworthiness of new sustainable imperatives. The study is based on a questionnaire survey carried out with over 70 owners and chefs from Italian Michelin-starred restaurants. The results show a clear tendency towards sustainability and an increasing attention towards this trend, emphasizing its peculiarities for the restaurant industry, which is indicates profound changes. More specifically, 35% of the variance in internal sustainability policies adoption is explained by external drives related to sustainability and customers' demands of sustainability. The data collected relies on an Italian sample, but the results are useful to understand the sustainability imperatives for the Michelin-stars restaurants worldwide as the Italian food service industry is often deemed as iconic. The study advances new insights into the future of the sustainable restaurant industry. The results of research are based on a novel research design and empirical survey capturing the state-of-the-art of sustainability policies adoption in the case of Michelin-starred restaurants.