Her investigation into whether the hospitality and food industry is making concerted efforts in reducing its impact on the environment is what earned DUT Food and Beverage Bachelor of Technology (BTech) student Naydene Kast a cum laude and Deans Merit Award for academic excellence when she graduated.

Kast, a mother of two who runs a family owned catering business, graduated yesterday, 23 April 2015, during the Faculty of Management Sciences graduation ceremony at the University Steve Biko Campus, Fred Crookes Sports Centre.

“Global warming and climate change are becoming a very serious problem in the world of today. The food service industry utilises lots of energy and generates large quantities of waste. The whole idea (behind my research) was to see whether there’s an effort being made to reduce those environmental impacts by the industry, as well as to see whether there are any bodies trying to regulate the harmful impact this industry may be causing to the environment,” she said.

Her research: An exploratory study on the sustainability efforts of Food Service Operations in the Durban region, randomly sampled three small scale businesses and seven large scale hotels, all which operate in the Durban region. Conducting this research was however not easy as, according to Kast, many businesses approached for the research were wary of supplying her with information relating to their operations.

“Many (businesses) were not willing to participate based on fear and a lack of understanding on what research is all about and that whatever information they provide would only be used for research purposes,” she said, adding that her lecturer, Jaya Naidoo, was supportive, putting her in contact with a list of people within the industry who were willing to assist her.

On her research findings, Kast said while there is a gradual move towards hospitality operators becoming more environmentally friendly, generally, not much is being done to mitigate the industry’s impact on the environment, especially by small scale businesses in the industry. “Within hotels, there is awareness and great changes being made to reduce their impact on the environment, but generally, a lot more can be done. Small things such as switching off electrical appliances when not in use, separating waste for recycling, buying recyclable products, having a garden growing in your business premises so you can use your waste as composting which will have a lesser impact on landfill and making sure taps are properly closed when not in use are some of the cost effective environmentally friendly strategies that can be implemented by businesses in the industry. Food service operators will benefit from my research, and if a concerted effort is made to change in the way in which businesses operate with regards to the environment, it (the environment) will also benefit largely,” she said.

Kast is no stranger to academic excellence, having had received two achievement awards during her diploma studies at DUT. She credits her mother – who started LorNAY Caterers, the family owned business that she runs – for her success. “I run a catering business from home so I was working through my studies. When I was younger, I helped my mother in her catering business. She showed me the way and was the driving force behind me studying towards this career. Before working with her, I didn’t know what career I wanted to pursue until I realised that I have a passion for food and people,” said Kast, adding that during her studies, she worked to achieve instead of getting a pass.

“I’m really ecstatic about graduating cum laude and getting a Dean’s Merit Award. There were times when I wanted to cry and give up. I couldn’t cope I had to work and take care of two children. Sometimes I had one of my daughters on my lap while I was trying to type. I’d like to thank Denzil Goldstone, a close family friend who funded my first year of studies up until my parents could. I’d also like to thank my mother, Lorna Richardson, my father Cedric Richardson, my husband Kerwyn Kast, my aunt Dr. Bronwyn Anderson and cousin Nikita Anderson for all their support,” she said, also extending her gratitude to her uncles (on her mother’s side) and sister-in-law for being there for her daughters while she was busy with her studies.

Kast’s dissertation was supervised by Jayrusha Ramsamy-Gurayah of UKZN.

Sinegugu Ndlovu