Developing resource efficiency through online training. The case of a small hospitality business in Scotland

As sustainability continues to be a concern in the hospitality industry, businesses are encouraged to be environmentally proactive and are engaging in online resources as a tool to encourage behaviour change. However, smaller businesses are neglecting to adapt due to the resources required when implementing such materials and suggest that training tools tend to be generic in content. This case study engages with one company working within the hospitality sector in Scotland to review a suite of online staff engagement materials, developed by Resource Efficient Scotland, to encourage resource efficiency. Semi-structured interviews were carried before and after the training on subjects from a diverse range of roles including; management, kitchen staff, wait staff and bar staff, with interviews exploring their current practices of resource efficiency at home and work. The research identified that the content of the training tended to be somewhat generic and that behaviour change was limited due to the lack of support on how best to implement the training tools. Additionally, the research established that behaviour change was also hindered due to lack of space within the establishment, a concept not discussed in the prior literature. Overall the online training tools were in part successful as the research demonstrated that the materials actually did encourage behaviour change in those participants that were involved.