Future Shock - CGA · Welcome to the sixth edition of the Future Shock report. CGA is delighted to...

Future ShockIssue Six - Sustainability

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ForewordContents

Welcome to the sixth edition of the Future Shock report. CGA is delighted to contribute to this important ongoing analysis of our dynamic and fast-moving sector, in association with UKHospitality and our partners from across the industry.

This edition of Future Shock addresses one of the most urgent issues of 2020 and beyond: sustainability. The environmental impacts of individual and corporate activity have never been under greater scrutiny, and as we enter a new decade it is an excellent opportunity to reflect on current practices and seek inspiration for change that can make our operations more sustainable.

As our analysis from CGA’s suite of research sources shows, there is much work to be done. Consumers now expect the brands they use to engage with sustainability in a robust and genuine way, and from the use of plastics to surplus food, pressure is mounting on restaurants, pubs and bars to minimise their waste and reduce their carbon footprints. Ignoring the challenge simply isn’t an option any longer.

But while there is room for improvement, we shouldn’t forget that our industry is responding fast to the pressure for action. The case studies in this report reveal ideas that can inspire us all—from small tweaks in processes to trim waste to major strategies that transform the supply chain. Our research makes it clear that leaders are investing in sustainability and harnessing technology to help them. More support is needed, for smaller businesses in particular—but major change is on the way.

CGA is proud to be working with UKHospitality to help make out-of-home eating and drinking a more sustainable sector and an example for other industries to follow. We hope you enjoy reading this special issue of Future Shock, and welcome your views.

Karl Chessell, Business Unit Director – Food and Retail, CGA

UKHospitality & CGA Future Shock Report - Issue Six - Sustainability

Foreword

Hospitality overview

Sustainability: an ever-present issue

Nine big messages on food and drink sustainability

Ten numbers to know

Sustainability in action: What consumers want most

UKHospitality on sustainability

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They have their differences but there is one issue around which all the major political parties seem to orbit pretty much in harmony. The issue is sustainability and it is a topic which is only going to become more important in the future. Sustainability, and associated environmental concerns, are arguably the great social issues of our time, and that is going to become more apparent to you and your business very quickly.

The hospitality sector has been leading on the issue in recent years, though, and we are in a great position to continue. In the past 18 months, UKHospitality has partnered with other industry bodies and worked with our members to proactively promote sustainability. We have already had some great success in removing single-use plastics from venues and we have succeeded in placing the problem at the forefront of businesses’ and customers’ minds.

This edition of Future Shock is possibly the most important to date. We focus on addressing sustainability issues on three fronts: packaging, food waste and zero carbon. Insight from industry leaders will ensure you are prepared to address sustainability within your own business confidently.

Sustainability is something we all need to address and not just to pre-empt and avoid restrictive legislation down the line. This report is the best resource you need to make real progress and make sure your businesses is doing everything it can to promote the sustainability we all need.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive, UKHospitality

UKHospitality & CGA Future Shock Report - Issue FiveUKHospitality & CGA Future Shock Report - Issue Six - Sustainability

Case studies

Sponsored articles

What’s next?

Greene King: Food waste hierarchy

Hilton: Food miles

Burger King: Meltdown - cutting plastics

Sodexo: Taking action on plastic pollution

Britvic: Beyond the bottle

Eversheds Sutherland: Sustainability - The defining business challenge of our time?

What are the considerations for the future?

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Hospitality at the vanguard of sustainability The scale of the UK’s hospitality industry means that sustainability issues are paramount. The industry is massive and so sustainability action must be correspondingly large.

The simple fact that our sector employs over 3.2 million people, providing opportunities in every region of the UK, means that the scale of our industry inevitably brings proportionate environmental impacts to mitigate. We employ more people than the automotive, pharmaceutical and aeronautical sectors combined. While hospitality’s direct environmental impacts are lower than of those sectors, we nevertheless cannot ignore our responsibilities. We have to act for the sake of a planet being pushed to its limits. Aside from everything else, our customers expect action to address such issues, which are ever higher on the public and policy agenda.

The nature of the sector, and the kind of businesses we boast, means that we are on the front lines in the ongoing and increasingly important battle for sustainability. This is also an area in which policy-makers in Westminster and the devolved governments are going to want to appear to act decisively in the near future, so it is important we stay ahead of any potentially restrictive legislation that may arise. Our customers also feel strongly about the issue and there can be no question about us being left behind.

The good news is that hospitality is looking to lead the way, and this is an area in which we can highlight some

significant progress. In 2018, UKHospitality signed WRAP’s UK Plastic Pact, a business collaboration aimed at cutting plastic waste. In the same year, we also partnered with the British Institute of Innkeeping to spearhead a sector-wide packaging event: Unpack the Future of Hospitality, addressing the issue of packaging waste in hospitality. Hospitality businesses have risen to the challenge admirably by voluntarily cutting back on single-use plastic, removing items such as straws altogether and rolling out initiatives to encourage customers to support their schemes by bringing reusable cups.

UKHospitality has also partnered with Green Tourism to ensure sustainability is at the heart of both the hospitality and tourism sectors. Green Tourism’s online sustainable management tool, GreenCheck, enables thousands of businesses to quickly confirm they are hitting sustainability and environmental targets. So, you can check your own results and adjust your practices if you are below target, or make a fuss if you are hitting your sustainability targets.

The bottom line is nobody will shout about the hospitality sector if we don’t do it ourselves. To combat the unfair negative perceptions of our industry we will need the correct support from policy-makers, but we also need to improve at publicising ourselves when we do a good job.

The value and contribution of hospitality

£130bn

p.a. in turnover

£10bn per year

5% OF GDP

AN INDUSTRY OF ENTREPRENEURS:

HALF A MILLION CREATED IN HOSPITALITY SINCE 2009

EMPLOYMENT IS UP 24% IN A DECADE

1 IN 6 NET NEW JOBS

2X GREATER THAN FINANCIAL

SERVICES

HOSPITALITY INVESTS

90% OF HOSPITALITY BUSINESSES ARE LOCAL SMES

c.£40bn in direct gross tax receipts

TAX RECEIPTS

3rdlargest private sector employer

3.2m HOSPITALITY

WORKERS

2.5% PRODUCTIVITY

GROWTH

£24.3bn

per year

TOURISM VISITOR SPEND

c73% TOTAL

IN BOUND SPEND

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UKHospitality & CGA Future Shock Report - Issue Six - Sustainability UKHospitality & CGA Future Shock Report - Issue Six - Sustainability

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Sustainability: an ever-present issue In one sense, sustainability is nothing new in hospitality. If we define it as the ability to maintain growth at a certain ratewithout depleting natural resources, it’s clear that it has always been a motivating factor for many businesses. Everyone wants to continue expanding at efficient and sustainable levels, and most have been aware for a long time of the need to work in a way that respects the food supply chain.

But the ways in which consumers interpret sustainability have changed dramatically in recent years. Media coverage about the climate crisis has been inescapable, and campaigners including David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion have helped to move sustainability from a niche to a mainstream interest. Priorities have changed—from a general interest in reducing carbon footprints to much more specific areas, like food waste, packaging and ethical practices.

With the spotlight only likely to get brighter through 2020, hospitality has no choice but to respond. Brands that can adapt smartly and prove their credentials on sustainability to consumers will have a competitive as well as ethical edge in the years ahead—but those who cannot respond to change risk becoming isolated very quickly.


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What do diners and drinkers really think about sustainability in hospitality now, and how are industry leaders responding? CGA’s combination of consumer and business insights provides a uniquely rounded picture of the issue.

Nine big messages on food and drink sustainability CGA’s suite of research reveals consumers’ fast-changing attitudes to sustainability — and how hospitality’s business leaders are responding.

1. Consumers expect proper engagement...

Case Study: Darwin & Wallace

CGA’s latest BrandTrack survey of more than 5,000 British consumers shows that more than four in five (83.1%) people now expect the eating, drinking and hotel brands that they use to engage on at least one of four key aspects of sustainability. Nearly two thirds (64.6%) expect to see ethically sourced food and drink—the incorporation of seasonal, local, sustainable and fairly traded ingredients. Around half want to find environmentally friendly packaging (53.9%) or evidence of reduced carbon footprint through menu engineering and commodity usage (50.3%). And a small but significant minority (16.2%) expect to see the brands they use donate to social, ethical or green causes.

This pressure applies to hotels as well as pubs, bars and restaurants. BrandTrack data shows that it is especially apparent at breakfast. For example, more than half (53%) of consumers think it is very or extremely important that their hotel breakfasts include locally sourced produce.

Neighbourhood bar and restaurant operator Darwin & Wallace has put sustainability at the heart of its proposition. It has been a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association right from the launch of the business in 2013 and has used it to benchmark its practices ever since, maintaining a top three-star rating for its eight sites since 2017.

Minimising waste is one of the key aims of the business. Food, coffee, cardboard, bottles and other items totaling around 90% of waste are split for recycling with the help of waste management agency Paper Round. Food sourcing, menu writing and portion control are all done with close attention to waste control, and at some venues, crops are harvested from small terrace gardens.

Action on sustainability also extends to small details like switching off lights and taps; and to working closely with partners through the supply chain—for example, by asking suppliers to make deliveries in reusable containers, or if that’s not possible to take away packaging for recycling. Food suppliers are asked to source as locally as possible, and to commit to high environmental, welfare and trading standards. Future plans include partnerships with city gardens and improved composting (www.darwinandwallace.co.uk).

Across all their hospitality usage, just 16.9% of consumers don’t expect to see any aspects of sustainability in action when they eat or drink out or stay in a hotel. This all adds up to a heavy demand on brands to not just improve their practices, but to demonstrate their commitment to consumers. It’s not enough to ‘talk the talk’ on sustainability any more: brands need to ‘walk the walk’.

Top 4 sustainability desires:

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2.

3.

4.

Ethically sourced food and drink

Environmentally friendly packaging

Reduce carbon footprint

Donate to social, ethical and green causes


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2. …But not everyone will pay more for it

4. Packaging matters

3. Sustainability is changing habits

Case Study: The Battlesteads Hotel

Case Study: Caravan, Boston Tea Party and Just Eat

Case Study: Native, Santo Remedio and Nightjar

From the point of view of pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and foodservice operators, investment in things like ethical sourcing, eco-friendly packaging and greener energy all costs time and money. And at a time when like-for-like sales and profit margins are under intense pressure, the big question is whether some or all of these extra costs can be passed on to consumers.

On this question, the picture is mixed. Those consumers most concerned about sustainability are more likely than average to have the money to spend on it. For example, those who think it is extremely important that brands source environmentally friendly ingredients have an average monthly spend of £92.25, compared to a £81.73 spend among those who don’t think this is important at all. This shows that environmentally conscious consumers are a potentially profitable segment to capture.

But not all consumers translate their expectations of sustainable practices into an acceptance that they will have to pay a little extra for them. Two in five (40.6%) say they would pay more for ethically sourced food and drink, and decent numbers would pay a premium for environmentally friendly packaging (25.2%), a reduced carbon footprint (22.7%) and donations to social, ethical or green causes (11.4%). But the largest proportion—43.4%—say that none of these things would justify paying more.

With plastic packaging and recyclability so prominent in conversations about sustainability, it is no surprise to find that people are especially sensitive to the subject when they go out to eat and drink or stay in a hotel. Straws seem to be a particular concern, and a third (34.0%) of consumers say they now expect to see environmentally friendly versions out-of-home now. Many leading operators have already responded by cutting out single-use straws altogether.

Sustainability issues are contributing to seismic changes in the way consumers choose their eating, drinking and accommodation venues. These impacts include a reduction in the amount of meat that is eaten. At the start of 2020, more than 350,000 people signed up to the Veganuary campaign, with environmental concerns one of the leading motivations, and two thirds (67%) of respondents to CGA’s 2019 Business Leaders Survey tipped it as a key food trend for the year—a number that has nearly trebled since the 2017 Survey.

Research for CGA’s Food Insights19 report meanwhile shows that 29% of consumers are trying to reduce their meat consumption, while nearly one in five now identify as either vegetarian (7%), vegan (4%), flexitarian (4%) or pescatarian (3%). But the report also shows that many of those on special diets are underwhelmed by the vegetarian or vegan

Hotels are coming under heavier scrutiny on their sustainability practices. One of the examples to follow is The Battlesteads Hotel in Northumberland, which received the Sustainable Business Award at the 2019 Cateys, having reduced its carbon footprint to a level that it claims is six times lower than the industry average. Its approach includes five eco-lodges and a restaurant serving ingredients fresh from its own gardens and polytunnels (www.battlesteads.com). With consumers’ growing focus on packaging waste, plastic

straws and takeaway coffee cups have been two of the biggest targets—putting pressure on bars and on-the-go brands to act. All-day coffeeshop and restaurant Caravan, for example, uses only takeaway cups that can be recycled up to seven times, and gives customers a 50p discount if they bring a reusable cup (www.caravanrestaurants.co.uk).

West Country multi-site café operator Boston Tea Party has gone even further, banning single-use cups altogether and only serving hot drinks to go to customers who bring their own cups. It admitted it took a hit on sales at first, but the move also won it the respect of many customers, and earned it the title of Britain’s Most Ethical Coffee Shop earlier this year (www.bostonteaparty.co.uk).

Pressure is also mounting on large delivery companies and their restaurant partners to provide alternative and more sustainable packaging. Delivery giant Just Eat has responded by working with packaging company Notpla to pack sauces in biodegradable seaweed-based sachets rather than single-use plastics. Around 65 restaurants have signed up to the scheme (www.justeatplc.com, www.notpla.com).

At British cuisine restaurant restaurant Native on Southwark Street, a wild food ethos sees chefs use foraged local ingredients, game and rare breed meats, accompanied by a zero waste strategy. It has also embraced the insect protein trend, serving up dishes on its tasting menu including a chocolate cremeux topped with Kentish Wood ants (www.eatnative.co.uk).

London Bridge Mexican restaurant Santo Remedio is among the other places also using insects—in its case a lime and chilli-packed guacamole that comes with a sprinkling of edible grasshoppers (www.santoremedio.co.uk).

Insects are even finding their way into cocktails. Influential Shoreditch bar Nightjar has previously served concoctions including a mint-chocolate cocktail called the Grasshopper, garnished with an edible Mexican grasshopper; and the Inca, which came sprinkled with dried Buffalo worms (www.barnightjar.com).

Evidence that sustainable practices gives brands a head start on loyalty is mixed. Some consumers say that a lack of ethically sourced food and drink (23.7%), environmentally friendly packaging (18.6%) or reduced carbon footprint (19.4%) would put them off visiting an eating or drinking venue, though well over half (57.5%) say none of these things would affect their decision to visit.

These numbers emphasise the argument that if operators fail to engage with sustainability issues, they may see consumers’ frequency of visit and loyalty fall. Neglecting these big issues risks putting off a good proportion of potential customers—and with so many people willing to pay more for ethically sourced food and drink, there is a sizeable market of sustainability-conscious consumers to play for.

More than a quarter (29.8%) of consumers meanwhile expect to see environmentally friendly food and drinks packaging, and significant minorities expect reusable cups (28.3%) and environmentally friendly cutlery (19.7%). While straws are the most high-profile example of wasteful packaging, it is clear that many consumers want greener alternatives right across the packaging spectrum—and the government’s proposed new Resources and Waste Strategy will put even more pressure on operators to deliver them.

offers of many restaurants. That shows how there is a major opportunity to capture their loyalty in the years ahead.

This trend away from meat has several side-effects. One important offshoot is the development of lab-grown artificial meat, on which scientists have been making major advances lately. Others include the growing interest in plant-based alternatives to restaurant staples like burgers, and the increasing interest in different sources of protein, like insects (see page 11). CGA’s Food Insights19 report shows that more and more consumers are willing to try meat alternatives like these, and while these eating patterns are on the margins for now, they may well tip over into the mainstream before long.

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5. Leaders recognise public pressure… 7. Food waste is a priority

8. Technology can help

6. … But not all businesses are acting yet

Case Study: Feng Sushi

Case Study: The Green House Hotel

Consumer pressure has made sustainability a significant concern for leaders. CGA’s Business Confidence Survey in August 2019, which polled more than 130 leaders from across the eating and drinking out sector, revealed that 91% of leaders now consider sustainability to be a priority a priority area for their organisation.

And across the industry, there are signs that investment in sustainability is increasing. Two in five (42%) business leaders say they dedicated more resources to sustainability initiatives in 2019 than 2018, and more than half (56%) allocated the same—leaving only a small number of leaders who cut spending.

Food-led operators tend to over-index on investment—perhaps because they have more scope to increase recycling than their counterparts in drink-led businesses, and because the waste of food and associated packaging is so visible to consumers. Foodservice leaders are also more likely than most to be focused on sustainability, likely because they are coming under mounting pressure from their clients and partners in the supply chain.

At a time when budgets are being squeezed, and margins are compromised by labour, food, property and many other costs, this is an encouraging sign of the sector’s commitment to sustainability.

Among all leaders responding to CGA’s 2019 Business Confidence Survey, three in four say reducing food waste is either a major focus (28%) or an area for concern (48%), and just 2% say it isn’t a concern at all. Of the leaders focused on this, two thirds (69%) say they are doing so through menu engineering. Adapting the offer to minimise the volume of food thrown away, to make the most of every ingredient and to refine kitchen procedures, remain the most effective ways for restaurants to start improving their sustainability.

It is interesting to see how many leaders are now turning to technology to support their efforts on sustainability. More than a third (38%) of those tackling food waste say they are doing so with the help of smart procurement tools, while one in seven (14%) is partnering with apps like Too Good to Go. There are signs that the system of Winnow bins, which identifies what is being discarded and its value, is starting to gain traction in UK kitchens as well.

Other platforms are emerging: Karma can help restaurants, pubs and hotels to promote food that they would otherwise throw away; Mimica predicts precisely when ingredients will go off; and Wasteless is an AI-powered pricing engine based on food expiry dates. Technology is also starting to improve packaging, via companies like Notpla, which produces edible and biodegradable packs, and CupClub, a returnable cup company providing drop points for used cups. Embracing these and other innovations can help operators to accelerate and streamline their efforts to improve sustainability and reduce the costs of doing so.

Leaders’ efforts on waste are not confined to their own businesses. Up and down the supply chain, more and more producers, suppliers and distributors are being pressed to reduce their environmental impacts and demonstrate their ethical practices. In CGA’s Business Leaders Survey in early 2019, three quarters (76%) of bosses in eating and drinking-out rated the ethical engagement of their suppliers as an important consideration.

This investment in sustainability is not universal. While many business leaders agree that sustainability is a priority, a third (33%) say they can’t allocate resource for it at present. This number rises to half (50%) of leaders of businesses with fewer than ten sites—but plummets to just 8% of leaders with more than 200 sites in their estate.

This shows how much this issue is impacted by resources; by having the finance, workforce and perhaps most importantly knowledge to take meaningful action on

Leading sushi brand Feng Sushi is an example of how restaurants can replace many of their exotic ingredients with home-grown alternatives, and so cut their air miles. It works with farmers in the UK to grow produce that is usually only found in Asia—a time-consuming effort, but one which substantially reduces carbon footprint and makes up in freshness what ingredients lose in authenticity. Feng Sushi is also committed to restaurant waste, sourcing its fish responsibly, using biodegradable packaging and sustainable bamboo chopsticks and recycling leftover oil for biodiesel (www.fengsushi.co.uk).

With numerous aspects of waste reduction and other sustainability issues to tackle, many of the UK’s hotels are taking decisive action. The Green House Hotel in Bournemouth has been described as the country’s greenest hotel, having made sustainability an integral part of a property refurbishment several years ago. Around 90% of the hotel’s electricity is now generated on-site, using a combined heat and power unit and solar electricity. Water usage is kept to a minimum by various methods, including aerated showers, sink taps, automated sensors, rainwater harvesting for irrigation and in-house filtration to avoid bottles. There are recycled materials throughout the hotel including in the restaurant’s tableware, chairs for meeting rooms and floor tiles in kitchen and bathrooms (www.thegreenhousehotel.co.uk).

sustainability. Smaller businesses may well have the desire to reduce their environmental impacts. But when that work is added to all the pressures of managing day-to-day operations and growing a business, it’s easy to see how sustainability gets neglected. It demonstrates the need for industry-wide support that smaller businesses can access, like best practice guidance and practical advice about steps to take. Many businesses, especially foodservice specialists and independent hotels, would also welcome support from their suppliers on this.

Case Study: Ugly Butterfly and Duke of Cambridge

Case Study: Eden Caterers

14%

Adam Handling’s Ugly Butterfly on the King’s Road in Chelsea is one of the UK’s first truly zero-waste restaurants. It uses by-products, offcuts and leftover ingredients from Handling’s Chelsea restaurant on Sloane Street to create small plates and snacks, with an emphasis on commonly wasted items like bread, eggs, milk and bananas. The restaurant sees education as a core aim, telling guests about the ingredients that would otherwise be discarded. A portion of profits goes to The Felix Project, a charity that gathers food from around 170 restaurants, suppliers and wholesalers, and redistributes it to schools and other charities preparing food for vulnerable people (www.uglybutterfly.co.uk).

The independently run Duke of Cambridge pub in Islington is another waste-focused pub, sending discarded food for anaerobic digestion. It is also 100% organic, eschewing GM crops and products, and does not take air-freighted produce. All pub furniture is second-hand or recycled, and it only uses renewable energy suppliers. There is a lot of support for the local community too, including charity dinner events that have so far raised more than £80,000, and work experience for students at nearby schools (www.dukeorganic.co.uk).

Examples of contract caterers ramping up their work on sustainability include Eden Caterers. It has a mission to send zero waste to landfill, recycling or reusing everything that comes though its doors, and uses as much UK seasonal produce as possible. Water and energy usage is minimised through various initiatives, low emission vans are used for delivery—and it even keeps bees to make its own honey (www.edencaterers.london).

ARE PARTNERING WITH APPS LIKE TOO GOOD TO GO


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9. Sustainability goes beyond ethics

Case Studies: Dishoom and Firmdale Hotels

Operating in a sustainable way doesn’t just mean reducing environmental impacts. Consumers increasingly expect the brands they use to be ethical in other ways too, including their engagement with communities and employees. For example, CGA’s BrandTrack survey shows that the vast majority (97%) of consumers think it is important that companies treat their workers fairly—and two thirds (69%) consider it extremely or very important. Nearly as many (86%) think it is important that brands invest in their local communities, a figure that has risen two percentage points in a year.

Two examples from restaurants and hotels show how businesses are improving their care of their teams in response to consumers’ pressure to show that they treat staff fairly.

At Bombay café style restaurant group Dishoom, anyone on the team who has been with the business for five years, or who is promoted to head chef or general manager level, is taken out to India for the ‘Bombay Bootcamp’, an immersive five-day tour of the city to learn about Bombay’s food, culture and heritage (www.dishoom.com).

At Firmdale Hotels meanwhile, the focus is on staff from overseas, with eight fully-funded English language courses open to all. Firmdale has arranged drop-in clinics to help EU nationals negotiate the EU Settlement Scheme applications. It helps to improve staff retention; a quarter of the company’s employees have worked in the company for five years or more (www.firmdalehotels.com).

86%THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT BRANDS INVEST IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES

OF CONSUMERS EXPECT TO SEE ETHICALLY SOURCED FOOD AND DRINK IN THE PLACES THEY VISIT TO EAT AND DRINK

65%

OF LEADERS TACKLING FOOD WASTE ARE USING SMART PROCUREMENT TOOLS TO DO SO

38%

OF LEADERS RATE THE ETHICAL ENGAGEMENT OF THEIR SUPPLIERS AS AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION

76% OF LEADERS INVESTED MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY IN 2019 THAN IN 2018

42%

16%

Ten numbers to know

OF CONSUMERS EXPECT TO SEE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PACKAGING IN THE PLACES THEY VISIT TO EAT AND DRINK

54%

OF CONSUMERS THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT BRANDS TREAT THEIR WORKERS FAIRLY

97%

OF CONSUMERS EXPECT TO SEE THE BRANDS THEY USE DONATE TO SOCIAL, ETHICAL OR GREEN CAUSES

67% OF LEADERS PREDICTED VEGANISM AS A KEY FOOD TREND AT THE START OF 2019

£92.25 AVERAGE MONTHLY EATING AND DRINKING-OUT SPEND OF

PEOPLE WHO THINK ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY INGREDIENTS

ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT—£10.52 MORE THAN THE AVERAGE OF THOSE WHO DON’T THINK IT’S IMPORTANT

91% OF LEADERS THINK SUSTAINABILITY IS A PRIORITY AREA FOR THEIR BUSINESS


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What consumers want mostWhich of these would you expect to see when you go out to eat or drink? Top ten answers

% of consumers

1 Seasonal food and drink produce 37.5%

2 Locally sourced food products 36.9%

3 Environmentally friendly straws 34.0%

4 Environmentally friendly food and drink packaging 29.8%

5= Reusable cups 28.3%

5= Locally sourced drinks products 28.3%

7 Reduced food waste through economical use of ingredients 27.3%

8 Environmentally friendly food products 22.9%

9 Reduced energy usage 20.2%

10 Environmentally friendly cutlery where appropriate 19.7%

UKHospitality on sustainabilityThere has been a pronounced shift in both public and political attention over the last several years towards focusing on climate and sustainability issues. Whether it has been the campaigning led by Greta Thunberg, the protests of Extinction Rebellion or the recognition of climate issues in the manifestos of all political parties, climate and sustainability issues were pushed to the forefront of political discourse in 2019.

It is certain that this will continue to be the case through 2020. In the post General Election Queen’s Speech outlining the Government’s priorities in this Parliament, the Government committed to legislation in this area, including introducing legally binding targets. UKHospitality has set its sustainability agenda for 2020, outlining three sustainability issues that we believe will be particularly prevalent. These are food waste, decarbonisation and plastic packaging. UKHospitality will continue to work closely with members to help them adapt to the rapidly changing sustainability agenda.

Food waste

Approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide for human consumption is lost or wasted. The United Nations in its Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 has called for a 50% reduction of per capita food waste by 2030. With food being such a key part of the hospitality sector, there is much that businesses can do to tackle food waste. According to WRAP, in the UK alone, the sector throws away one million tonnes of food waste each year, of which 75% is avoidable. UKHospitality supports the work of WRAP and their food waste reduction roadmap. We have also signed up to the Courtauld Commitment 2025, which aims to cut the carbon, water and waste associated with food and drink by at least one-fifth in 10 years.

It has been positive to see so many members already taking significant steps towards reducing their food waste, as the Greene King case study in this report highlights. Pizza Hut restaurants are another example of good practice in the sector, reducing operational food waste as a percentage of food purchased by 50%.

We anticipate that the Government will increasingly focus on food waste in the next year or so, as part of the national food strategy, with mandatory measurements possible.

Decarbonisation – Green Sector Deals

In our Menu for Change, UKHospitality has proposed the creation of ‘Green Sector Deals’, public-private partnerships designed to help businesses decarbonise. This could include joint efforts to move businesses to cleaner energy solutions. For example, Government supported solar panels on hotels, helping share the burden of introduction and maintenance. The Government has committed to introducing legislation next year to formalise UK carbon reduction targets. It would be a significant step in the right direction if the Government were to formalise plans to deliver net zero emissions on a sector-by-sector basis.

Plastic packaging

Following widespread outcry about the effects of plastics on the environment, the Government has sought to take action. In December 2018, the Government published it’s Resources and Waste Strategy. As part of this Defra launched three consultations, including one about a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers (DRS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Following the evaluation of the consultation responses, it was subsequently announced that the proposed scope of the DRS scheme will be fully consulted on in 2020. All the while, Scotland has already agreed the introduction of a DRS scheme on single-use drinks containers where hospitality businesses operating in a closed-loop would be exempt. UKHospitality and others in the industry are now working on the arrangements of its introduction, which will possibly be used as a blueprint for the rest of the UK.

The other consultations included Consistency in Household and Business Recycling Collections in England; and reforming the UK packaging producer responsibility system. This will extend producers’ responsibility and increase the cost of all packaging and is likely to have an impact throughout the supply chain.

The Government has also stated that it intends to mandate further segregation of business waste materials and set out the next steps for a proposed plastic tax. It is expected this will be taken forward and we will see more detail on this in 2020.

Finally, it is expected that despite having previously been rejected by Government, Scotland is now looking to introduce a coffee cup tax, which is likely to prompt calls for something similar in the rest of the UK.

Advice and guidance

WRAP

UKHospitality works closely with WRAP to help businesses cut food waste. WRAP offers guidance for businesses of all sizes to help them achieve their targets. For more information visit www.guardiansofgrub.com

Zero Waste Scotland

Resource Efficient Scotland is a programme which provides free support and funding to help businesses use less energy, water and materials – and save money.

For more information visit www.resourceefficientscotland.com

UKHospitality

UKHospitality keeps its members abreast of any sustainability policy developments via its weekly newsletter. Members can also access briefing documents on the big issues which outline the current political stance. UKHospitality hosts a Sustainability forum where members discuss the challenges and how to find the solutions to these, whether that is lobbying government or sharing best practice and ideas. For more information, visit www.ukhospitality.org.uk

UKHospitality supplier members

UKHospitality supplier members also offer a range of help for operator businesses to help them achieve their sustainability goals.

For more information on this visit the UKHospitality website or email [email protected].


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Food miles

The Cool Food Pledge

Hilton is the world’s first hotel company to sign the Cool Food Pledge, committing to collectively reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030. The Cool Food Pledge was created by the World Resources Institute (WRI), an organization dedicated to helping businesses develop more sustainable practices.

The Better Buying Lab

Hilton co-founded the Better Buying Lab (BBL) with the WRI. The BBL researches, tests and rolls out food-related initiatives which help consumers to make more informed, sustainable menu choices – an aim which corresponds with the work of the Cool Food Pledge.

The Blended Burger

As part of its involvement with the BBL, Hilton has focused on taking a twist to classic recipes such as the burger and the club sandwich. One example is the Blended Burger, which swaps out 30% of its beef content for mushrooms. As a result, the burger generates 29% less CO2 than a standard all-beef patty. Not only does the dish taste great, it helps to address the fact that animal-based products are the largest greenhouse gas contributors within the agricultural industry. Today, Hilton offers reduced meat dishes in over 500 hotels spanning 100 countries, including the US, UK, Brazil, Peru, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa. Hilton chefs around the world have also adapted the Blended Burger recipe to suit local palates and make use of local ingredients. This year, Hilton chefs in Turkey trialled a version of the Blended Burger which swaps out beef for eggplant, a much-loved staple ingredient in Turkish cuisine. This localized version of the Blended Burger has been a hit with diners and has now been introduced to other Hilton hotels across Turkey.

Better Bites

A “Better Bites” campaign to serve up sustainable dishes, as part of our commitment to the Cool Food Pledge challenged Hilton chefs to design a special menu that showcased locally-sourced ingredients, plant-based or reduced-meat dishes, as well as seafood that is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Currently, a quarter of all planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and associated land-use change. Through its Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals, Hilton has committed to cutting its environmental footprint in half and doubling its investment in social impact by 2030. Specific targets include reducing carbon emissions by 61%, and cutting foot waste by 50%.

Hilton has made great progress against these targets through a series of innovative measures. Key examples include:

Currently all of Greene King’s food waste is recorded and sent for anaerobic digestion, where it is processed into biogas and soil enhancer. In addition, 65% of our food waste is backhauled through our distribution network, with the remaining 35% collected through dedicated food bins. All our kitchens are set up to segregate food waste, with colour-coded bins placed strategically back of house. Kitchens are limited to just one general waste bin, and green food waste bins are placed on cook lines. The contents of these are emptied into tote boxes and transferred back to depot, from where they go on to the anaerobic digestion plant.

Menus and prep

We build food waste prevention into our menus and preparation guides, which detail how to reduce prep waste, order correctly to reduce spoilage, and how to correctly rotate and store stock. When menus are being developed and launched, the menu development team audit sites and actively review what ingredients and elements of dishes are consistently being wasted. This is reviewed by asking staff and customers about their experience and tipping food bins to create waste profiles.

In September, as part of WRAP’s Guardians of Grub Campaign, Greene King launched a Food Waste Awareness Week. We used various types of internal communications to bring awareness to everyone in the business on the issue of food waste and what more we can do to tackle it – both as an organisation and as individuals. Facts about food waste were shown on screens around the business and posted on Greene King’s social media platform which is accessible to all team members.

Signage

Greene King has used an innovative signage project at our Farmhouse Inn carvery brand to engage customers in the food waste issue with the ultimate aim to reduce plate waste. The signage links customers to the Love Food Hate Waste website, and has been rolled out across 70 sites and placed on top of carvery decks to capture guests’ attention. In addition to supplying the signage, team members at the sites were briefed about the importance of tackling food waste and how to talk about the topic with guests.

Measuring

We’re currently developing an action plan to extend site-level food waste categorisation and measuring pilots to a wider, more detailed pilot to generate brand specific profiles of food waste types. This research will form the basis of strategies to reduce waste streams identified through exploring technology, behavioural change campaigns and engagement processes.

Partnerships

Greene King is also working with multiple partners including Too Good to Go and food redistribution charities to explore potential opportunities to further reduce food waste.

Food Waste HierarchyHow Greene King uses a Food Waste Hierarchy to reduce the amount of food that is wasted in its pubs and restaurants.

25% by 2030

Hilton is the world’s first hotel company to sign the Cool Food Pledge, committing to collectivelyreduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by

Case Studies Case Studies


21

Meltdown: Burger King® UK is melting down plastic toys for good With sustainability in the quick service restaurant sector under sharp scrutiny, Burger King UK has moved decisively to reduce waste—including by removing single-use plastic toys from its children’s offer and recycling existing ones.

The move to remove plastic toys from King Junior Meals was made in September 2019, and is estimated to save 320 tonnes of single use plastic every year. The ‘Project Meltdown’ initiative meanwhile saw Burger King UK encourage its customers to place unwanted plastic toys into ‘amnesty bins’ in all its restaurants. The plastic was then melted down and recycled for use elsewherein Burger King UK’s operations, including in restaurant trays and elements of play areas.

As well as recycling unwanted plastic, this strategy reduces the amount of new plastic that would have been required to construct these restaurant items. And because the plastic in trays, play areas and elsewhere is specifically designed to be recycled again in the future, it can be kept in use for perpetuity.

Burger King UK’s move marks a step change for the QSR sector—and they are inspiring change for the Burger King brand around the world too. The company is now looking at ways to abandon non-biodegradable plastic toys completely across its global markets by 2025, and will launch sustainable alternatives to plastic toys in the UK in 2020.

Marketing Director Katie Evans says sustainability and respect for the environment are key pillars of Burger King UK’s strategy. “It is impossible to ignore the growing problem excessive plastic waste is causing, and we are glad to be taking action. We know we can positively contribute to finding new, more sustainable solutions, long term. There’s an opportunity for us to make a radical change with Meltdown—one of the first of many.” Fernando Machado, Burger King’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, adds: “We are a global brand, and the UK market will be leading the way in making this first step towards change, which is part of our wider commitment on reducing plastics.”

Working with Burger King UK on the initiative is Pentatonic, a circular economy specialist that works with big brands to recycle and reuse waste materials. Its founder and CMO Jamie Hall says: “Project Meltdown is a giant leap for the food and beverage industry in terms of its waste culture. True impact is only achievable through action, not words. Burger King UK is not making a vague gesture, which is so often the case in this sector—instead they are taking significant action. Burger King UK has listened to their audience and is responding in an emphatic way and we are delighted to provide the design and manufacturing technologies to make their bold vision a reality.”

Taking action on plastic pollution is critical

Waste is one of our industry’s biggest collective challenges, particularly plastic and the damage it does to our natural environment.

Our industry has been heavily dependent on single use plastics products and packaging. But by looking at what we use and why, and working to find alternatives, we have been making significant strides to reduce – and ultimately eliminate – that dependence.

Our approach has always been to look at what we are using and identify one at a time the different groups of products we can focus on eliminating from our business operations.

We started by looking at disposable coffee cups several years ago. As a business we serve 22 million hot drinks a year, and with disposable cups designed to be safe and durable, the plastic polythene lining of the paper cups which holds the liquid and heat in, means they are difficult to recycle.

We joined forces with Simply Cups, the UK’s first paper and plastic cup collection and recycling service. Together we developed a suitable solution for our business which has resulted in around 200,000 hot drinks cups being recycled every month.

Simply Cups also produce reusable cups made from recycled disposable cups and we are happy to offer these along with other options for our customers to purchase. By actively encouraging our customers to use a reusable cup for their hot drink, we have stopped 500,000 disposable cups being used.

This progress has been gathering pace. In May 2018 we decided to remove plastic straws and stirrers from our operations and by doing so we have prevented some 1.83m plastic straws and 1.79m plastic stirrers from being used and thrown away. In October 2018, we stopped using single use plastic bags in our retail operations. We now offer alternative carriers, such as paper. Although our overall retail operation is fairly small, we have already removed 250,000 SUP bags from circulation.

Polystyrene products are our current focus. These are hard to recycle in the UK so in 2018 we committed to phase out their use from all our operations by the end of 2020. We have made significant progress on this to date, removing over one million pieces of polystyrene a month compared to last year, so we are on track to remove these products by 1 February 2020, well ahead of our target.

Acting to protect our environment cannot be, and should not be, a tick box exercise.

The threat of climate change is real, and we all need to take concerted action to reduce pollution and the waste that contributes to climate change. Reducing plastic waste is just one part of this – part of our overall drive to reduce our carbon footprint by 34% by 2025.

By Simon Mussett, head of waste management, Sodexo UK & Ireland

20

202534% byReducing plastic waste is part of Sodexo’s overall drive to reduce our carbon footprint by

Case Studies Case Studies


23

Beyond the bottle

According to the latest Britvic Soft Drinks Review, the soft drinks category delivered strong growth in 2018 with a value of £7.14bn in the UK hospitality sector (foodservice and licensed), growing ahead of the total UK eating-out market with a value sales increase of +3.8%1.

“As a category we will continue to focus on offering a range of alternatives with health at the forefront of consideration to drive growth,” said Adam Russell, Director of Foodservice and Licensed at Britvic, “But it is also critical that we adapt and offer solutions to the UK hospitality industry when it comes to creating a sustainable future.”

Sustainability and impact on the environment are increasingly influencing consumer purchase decisions. A recent study showed that nearly half (48%) of people view it as ‘very important2’ and when polled, customers and business leaders identified the three most important1

sustainability issues as waste management, sustainable packaging and ethical sourcing.

Sustainability around plastics is a key trend with 98% of business leaders creating plans to reduce their company’s consumption3. In the hospitality industry the decision to remove plastic straws from outlets has been widely documented and we are now also seeing the impact on

out-of-home water sales as more than a third of people (37%)4 change their habits and carry refillable bottles. This opens up an exciting opportunity for the future of dispense out of home to deliver sellable soft drinks that can be dispensed into refillable bottles.

Creating a world where great packaging never becomes waste

Packaging is an intrinsic part of modern life, and with its growth has come an unintended consequence – packaging waste. More needs to be done about it. As an industry leader, we play a crucial role in dealing with this issue head on and with pace. It’s one of our top business priorities.

The hospitality industry, in particular, is currently reliant on single use plastic, and that places a huge spotlight on soft drinks. Nearly half (48%) of consumers feel it is ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important that the brands they visit use environmentally friendly packaging5. Dispense delivers a key future opportunity for the foodservice and licensed channel, reappraising how we view, utilise and deliver dispense with a multitude of benefits: reducing reliance on single use plastic, positively contributing to waste management along with delivering operational efficiencies for operators.

By Trystan Farnworth, Director of Sustainability and Adam Russell, Director of Foodservice & Licensed at Britvic

1CGA Foodservice 2CGA BrandTrack 3CGA Business Leaders Survey 4HIM Consumer Poll5CGA Foodservice & Licensed Value MAT to 31/12/2018 6Britvic & thinkstep, Sept 2018

PREMIUM DISPENSE SOLUTIONSLondon Essence Fresh ServeMixers had the highest value performance of soft drinks sales in foodservice and licensed channel (+30.2%) in 2018. It all started with the gin revolution but other spirits are starting to experience their own renaissance, with bespoke mixers being created.

The biggest sustainability challenge faced with this growth is the large amount of single use bottles used by outlets.6A typical outlet can use as many as 700 bottles per week that need storing and recycling.

London Essence Fresh Serve is the UK’s first freshly infused tonic. Britvic’s unique technology uses distilled essences to gently infuse a single pure flavour at the last possible moment. The fount will create a range of five delicious, freshly infused, premium tonic waters.

“We’re immediately able to simplify outlets’ operational requirements by reducing packaging use in tonic by over 96%,” said Trystan Farnworth, Director of Sustainability at Britvic. “It’s the first step into the future of modern dispense and certainly one of the biggest innovations in the last decade for soft drinks in the hospitality sector.”

In such a fast-moving landscape, predicting future developments around sustainability isn’t easy. But one thing is for sure: the debate, challenges and pressure are not going away.

Consumers, campaigners and pressure groups will all be striving to ensure that the climate crisis stays high on the agenda in 2020 and beyond, and they will all be expecting businesses to show that they are properly engaged on sustainability and committed to meaningful change. Standing still on this issue simply isn’t an option.

As the research and case studies throughout this Future Shock report show, business leaders are already acting, with countless examples of change, innovation and investment right across hospitality. More environmentally friendly packaging, dramatic reductions in food waste, new ethical sourcing models, fewer supply chain miles and active social engagement are just some of the bold steps that have been taken.

But all operators will need to demonstrate even deeper commitment to sustainability issues in the coming months and years, and the government will be adding to the pressure to do so. As uncertainty over Brexit and the General Election eases, we can expect to see Government departments returning to domestic legislation—and that is likely to include increasingly tough obligations

on businesses, especially on the use of plastic and other packaging. As we make clear in this report, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that it will all add to the regulatory burdens and cost pressures on our sector.

But throughout the debate on what is to be done, UKHospitality is fighting to ensure that any new legislation is workable and timely, and will seek to minimise the burden any new policies will have on businesses. UKH is in ongoing conversations with Downing Street and relevant departments including DEFRA and DCMS, helping to inform on the practicalities and consequences of suggested policies, and showing that the industry takes this issue seriously.

UKH will also be working closely with members to help adapt to the rapidly changing sustainability agenda, providing the ideas and tools to drive change. Some big challenges lie ahead for hospitality in 2020, but through innovation and collective action we can ensure that this industry leads the way towards a more sustainable future.

Sponsored Articles22

What’s next on sustainability?

91%

42%OF BUSINESS LEADERS ALREADY CONSIDER SUSTAINABILITY A PRIORITY AREA FOR THEIR BUSINESS

HAVE INCREASED INVESTMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES


What’s Next

There is a huge variation in the environmental performance between packaging types (based on a 250ml servemeasure):

When served in a reusable or recyclable vessel such as a glass - as it is in most foodservice and licensed environments - dispense is by far the packaging format with the smallest environmental footprint.

“Exclusive scientific research to establish the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of different product types by Britvic reveals the positive power of dispense,” concludes Farnworth. “A dispense product per serve versus a glass bottle per serve has a global warming potential of circa 99% less, a packaging weight of circa 98% less, and water consumption of approximately 97% less. These statistics are remarkable, but are not widely appreciated yet.”

Britvic’s approach

Britvic has a renowned sustainability strategy, and earlier this year announced its new 2025 packaging strategy based on the “4 Rs”: REDUCING, REUSING, REFRAMING, REINVENTING.

Dispense is already a rewarding solution for operators wanting to REDUCE packaging in their outlets, especially when the product is poured into a REUSABLE drink vessel. Through its research, Britvic is working to REFRAME thinking around dispense solutions.

The next challenge is therefore to REINVENT and this is where dispense innovation will be at the heart of its sustainability offer to the trade in the future.

BRITVIC IS A PROUD RECIPIENT OF THE 2018 PWC PLC SUSTAINABILITY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING AND ALSO WON AN ACCOLADE FOR ITS LOW EMISSION FLEET AT THE 2017 GREEN FLEET AWARD

Glass Bottle275ml

Bag in Box12 litre

Total packaging weight 186.1g 2.1g

Fresh water consumption 0.399 litres 0.0144 litres

Global warming potential - equivalent distance driven in a car

(Assuming petrol car,2016 UK average new car

consumption)7

1,001m 2m

Addressing the customer needs

Total packaging weight

Fresh water consumption – a measure of the net intake and release of fresh water in litres across the life of the product system

Global warming potential – a measure of greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2 and methane, measured in metres

7The lifecycle packaging carbon footprint for one serving of each product is equivalent to driving the above distances. Assuming petrol car. In 2016, the UK average new car fuel consumption was 5.4litres per 100km, this equates to 0.151kg CO2/km.Sources: British Soft Drinks Association and CGA Foodservice

& Licensed Value MAT to 31/12/2018Sources: 8CGA Foodservice & Licensed Value MAT to 31/12/2018 9British Soft Drinks Association

7Britvic & thinkstep, Sept 2018

“There’s no dispute that people want to see less packaging - but it’s not simply limited to plastic, even though that is what receives the most media attention,” said Trystan Farnworth, Director of Sustainability at Britvic. “It is important that we respond to this challenge with new solutions. The potential of dispense to reduce environmental impact in this channel has been overlooked, partly because consumers rarely see it – they just see the finished glass of product.”

Britvic recently conducted bespoke research7 to specifically isolate the analysis of the packaging (primary, secondary and tertiary) only - excluding the liquid - to compare different packaging formats and their relative environmental impact.

The research looked at several metrics, the most important being:

1.

2.

3.

OF ALL MANUFACTURING ELECTRICITY COMES FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES

21%REDUCTION IN MANUFACTURE CARBON EMISSIONS RELATIVE TO PRODUCTION

100%

OF ALL BRITVIC’S CANS AND BOTTLES ARE RECYCLABLE

100%

PROUD FOUNDING SIGNATORY OF UK PLASTICS PACT

24 Sponsored ArticlesSponsored Articles

340,00JOBS ARE SUPPORTED BY THE UK SOFT DRINKS INDUSTRY9.

£7.14bn TOTAL VALUE OF SOFT DRINKS IN THE UK FOODSERVICE AND LICENSED SECTOR8.

ALL PLASTIC BOTTLES AND CANS PRODUCED BY BRITISH SOFT DRINKS MANUFACTURERS ARE

100% RECYCLABLE9


25

26 27

Culture mattersOur study identified six specific steps that the leaders in the field have taken in building a sustainability culture: it’s an opportunity to re-shape the business for a sustainable future. You can find out more in our report “Re-shaping Your Business: the Impact of Sustainability on the Food & Beverage Sector”, and the write-up of the subsequent dinner debate and further conversations with clients. To download the main report, visit https://bit.ly/ESConsumerReport to download the update visit http://bit.ly/ESConsumerReportNewUpdate or call Paul Moorcroft on 0121 232 1277

• Food provenance and the supply chain: a call for greater transparency and collaboration

• Energy use/carbon emissions: a real opportunity for cost savings, but new investment required for longer term returns

• Plastics, packaging and food waste: high on consumers’ agenda but a challenge for an industry that has become reliant on plastic.

Variable Pace of Change as Boards address Sustainability This “adoption curve” illustrates where companies might be at in their journey towards sustainability. Most were clear about the need to move faster along the curve and the risks of falling too far behind.

Who is driving the sustainability agenda? While many companies stated that their sustainability agenda was driven by their internal DNA – “it’s the right thing to do” – all acknowledged that their traditional stakeholders play a major role. Predictably, customers topped the list; but employees and investors are also putting pressure on corporate boards to pay more attention to sustainability.

Sustainability

Energy

Environment

Plan

et

Water

Supply chain

Plant-based packaging

Biomass

Recycling

Re-forestation

Biodiversity

Climate change

Solar energy

Nutrition

Anaerobic digestion

Plastic

Packaging

Food miles

Diet

Carbon emissions

Renewables

Geotherma

Regenerative agriculture

Win

d fa

rms

Animal welfareCircular economy

Community Food waste

Priorities: where companies focus effortsIt’s a wide-ranging topic, covering everything from the environment to human rights. With the focus on materiality, companies need to prioritise from a long list of options. Common to almost all, however, were three key areas:

As they grapple with a hundred and one competing priorities in a rapidly changing consumer world, corporates know that sustainability matters. But our recent Risk Governance Review, (where 400 Board members were surveyed), suggests company boards are off the pace in identifying climate change, arguably the heart of the sustainability debate and an area that could be far higher on the Board agenda.

That said, our sector-specific study highlights many positives and most food and beverage companies now have a sustainability strategy. Some are well establishedon the road to sustainability, others are beginning their journey.

Key findings from our initial study and subsequent conversations with clients:

Sustainability - The defining business challenge of our time?“The sustainability agenda brings risk and complexity, but also plenty of opportunity,” says Paul Moorcroft, Head of Consumer Sector at Eversheds Sutherland, commenting on our recent study of sustainability in the food and beverage sector. “We see ever-increasing consumer pressure, greater scrutiny from investors – and a surprising desire for more legislation”.

The momentum behind sustainability is growing rapidly; companies who move too slowly may be risking their future and losing credibility with key stakeholders – consumers, employees and investors

Sustainability seems higher on the agenda for these stakeholders than for many boards, and it’s increasingly important to close the gap - not least because accessing finance in the future may depend on sustainability issues

Cost, complexity and contradictions present significant challenges: a focus on “materiality” will be key to success

Companies expect more legislation, but a surprising number welcome a “levelling of the playing field” which comes from more, not less, government intervention

Legislation needs to address consumer behaviour as well as corporate activities

Corporate legal teams have much to contribute – boards should involve them more closely in their sustainability initiatives

Collaboration within companies and with governments, NGOs and industry bodies is vital

Reliance on compliance is not enough; creating a corporate culture around sustainability and embedding it in all processes is essential to deliver genuine change

We spoke to senior executives in companies at all stages of the “field to fork” chain, both publicly listed and privately owned – representing nearly 600,000 employees and with a combinedmarket cap of over $300 billion. We also consulted members of the financial community and reviewed recent reports from governments, NGOs and other stakeholders to identify what’s driving their sustainability initiatives.

Sustainability as a board priority

Average adoption curve

Innovator Early adopters Early majority Late majority Laggards

High and well established

Firmly in company DNA

Long-established priority

Central to decision making

Major capital investment

Anticipating next trend

Growing priority

Not wanting to be in the vanguard

But recognise a need to act

Reacting to external pressure

Limited resource to allocate

High priority

On board’s agenda / exec sponsor

Commitment to key goals / targets

Influences decisions (as long as not against strategic objectives)

Sustainability = potential opportunity Sustainability = potential threat

Sponsored ArticlesSponsored Articles

Customer satisfaction

Market share andbrand reputation

Competitionfor talent

Access tofinance

Employee Engagement

Investor confidence

Cost conscious but keen to embracesustainability, confused by choices

Two generations in workforce forwhom sustainability is non-negotiable

Interest no longer confined to ESGfunds, seen as opportunity not just risk


https://bit.ly/ESConsumerReport)

https://bit.ly/ESConsumerReport)

http://bit.ly/ESConsumerReportUpdate

https://www.eversheds-sutherland.com/global/en/what/publications/board-report/index.page

https://www.eversheds-sutherland.com/global/en/what/publications/board-report/index.page

CGA is the data and research consultancy of choice for the out-of-home food and drinks market, specialising in market measurement, consumer research and location planning. What sets CGA apart is its unique ability to access the three key types of data (supply, demand and consumer) and then triangulate this data to provide the most complete and accurate picture of anyone in the out of home sector.

From its offices in Manchester, United Kingdom, and Chicago, United States, CGA experts work with many of the world’s biggest consumer brands, including drinks manufacturers, consumer brand owners, food suppliers and wholesalers as well as pub, bar and restaurant retailers and government entities.

Founded in 1992, CGA’s mission is to use its phenomenal data and expert insight of the leisure industry to give these brands the competitive edge, and get them where they want to be, faster.

Representing more than 700 companies in a sector that employs 3.2 million people, UKHospitality speaks for a sector that represents 10% of UK employment, 6% of businesses and 5% of GDP.

UKHospitality seeks to unlock the industry’s full potential as one of the biggest engines for growth in the economy and to ensure that the industry’s needs are effectively represented by engaging with government, the media, employees and customers. Our key priorities are the future workforce of the sector, tackling the excessive tax burden the sector faces and ensuring that regulation on business is proportionate.

Please contact CGA for questions relating to research and content:

T: 0161 476 8330E: [email protected]

Visit: www.cga.co.ukFollow us on twitter: @CGA_insights

To contribute to future Future Shock reports, become involved in the UKH Sustainability Forum or for membership enquiries, please contact UKHospitality:

T: 020 7404 7744E: [email protected]

Visit: www.ukhospitality.org.ukFollow us on

@UKHofficial

@UKHospitality

@UKHospitality

@UKHospitality

UKHospitality & CGA Future Shock Report - Issue Six - Sustainability

Future Shock - CGA · Welcome to the sixth edition of the Future Shock report. CGA is delighted to...

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Transcript of Future Shock - CGA · Welcome to the sixth edition of the Future Shock report. CGA is delighted to...