Abstract
Independent restaurants are central to destination identity, community wellbeing and local economic vitality, yet many operate under intense financial pressure that constrains sustainability action. Drawing on a live intervention involving over 400 local including engaged in a Sustainable Restaurant Toolkit initiative, including over 50 who have completed a tailored sustainability checklist this workshop explores how hospitality scholars can co create economically viable sustainability transitions with survival driven small businesses. Recent research in this field has applied the Motivation, Opportunity and Ability framework to understand the drivers and constraints shaping restaurant sustainability journeys. Building on these insights, the aim of this session is to move beyond analysis to collaborative design. Participants will share practice-based experiences, both successful and challenging, and co-develop a research agenda for impact-oriented hospitality sustainability. Through structured small group work and collective synthesis, the workshop aims to initiate a network of scholars committed to scalable, co-produced and context sensitive sustainability interventions in independent hospitality sectors.