Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is one of the biggest challenges of our time and is a topic that has attracted a large amount of attention for a long time. Mitigation efforts to slow down and stabilize the progress of global warming have been embraced worldwide. In particular, the foodservice industry, including retail food businesses (e.g., grocery stores), the commercial foodservice sector (e.g., restaurants, food trucks, cafeterias, coffee shops), and the non-commercial foodservice sector (e.g., schools, university, corporations), has increasingly prioritized initiatives centering on environmental and social sustainability.

However, during the COVID19- pandemic, many of these sustainable efforts suddenly halted.  Most foodservice establishments ended sustainability initiatives and shifted their focus to health and hygiene concerns related to COVID-19. Furthermore, many foodservice businesses had to change their operations to accommodate the rise in take-out, curbside pick-up, and delivery services. This change in focus, while primarily focused on keeping the industry alive, had unintended consequences on environmental management practices.

As far as the consequences and impacts of the sustainability of food consumption/practices in the foodservices sector and incidental effects are concerned, the body of research on foodservices is rather limited. These gaps underscore the need for theoretical and practical research to advance the progress on sustainability in the foodservice sector by addressing central research issues, which is the reason behind the current call for papers. Consumer attitudes, menu choices, packaging strategies, sustainable practices, and communication strategies have all impacted public health, the environment, society, the economy, and even climate change. Thus, gaining a better understanding of consumers’ behavior towards healthy eating and sustainable consumption and the role of businesses is crucial. 

These things have all changed and we need to be at the forefront of research on the issues and implications of sustainability and foodservice management.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect research relating to sustainability in the foodservice sector, where consumers and businesses play a role in improving healthy eating and sustainable consumption. Contributions may wish to address but are not limited to the topics of:

• Sustainable consumer behavior in the foodservice industry;
• Sustainable consumption drivers and behaviors:
• Consumer perceptions and behaviors regarding the waste generation process;
• Interventions and strategies to improve healthy eating behaviors;
• Interventions and strategies to promote sustainable consumption;
• Interventions and strategies to reduce food waste and plastic waste from take-out or delivery options;
• Communication strategy in sustainability messaging and marketing;
• Sustainability-oriented brands and price sensitive segments;
• Sustainability initiatives, such as developing plant-based diets and using biodegradable materials;
• Innovative supply chains that change the way consumers access food and packaging;
• Business models underpinning the creation of sustainable consumption;
• Technological transformations in sustainability.

Dr. Eojina Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainable consumption
• healthy eating
• foodservice
• restaurants
• food delivery
• food waste
• responsible behavior
• consumer behavior