Sustainability in Catering Update
BEYOND THE POLICY
Our progress has not been limited to the points within our Sustainable Food & Drink Policy.
Due to our success in embedding sustainability in every part of our process and team, some of our biggest successes have been new ideas, coming from every level.
Below are just some of our innovative ideas coming from the day-to-day work of the procurement team
TETRAPAK NAPKINS CLEANER CLEANING
Our napkins and dispensers are from a company called Lucart, who collect and recycle tetrapaks to turn them into plastic and tissue and give them a new lifeQ
Not only are the materials more sustainable, but the dispensers have also lead to a 40% drop in napkin consumption.
We’ve swapped most of our cleaning products to Biovate. They use plant-based ingredients & packaging and offset the little carbon footprint they create as a company.
They have won several Europe wide sustainability awards for their products & initiatives.
BEYOND THE POLICY
Of course it’s not just about what we serve, but also about where it comes from!
CHOOSING OUR PRODUCTS
We’re always looking for more sustainable products. Most recently:
We’ve swapped to a sustainably-farmed milk with carbon-neutral packaging and recyclable lids (most milk lids are not actually recyclable!).
We’ve found a new, more eco-friendly banana provider that is Rainforest Alliance Certified.
find delicious plant-based products we out as standard – all our croissants across campus are now vegan by default!
CHOOSING OUR PARTNERS
We undergo regular sustainability reviews on all our providers, to review their sustainability credentials and policies.
We are working with one of our biggest suppliers on calculating the carbon footprint of all our food, so that you can make informed choices.
We continue to adhere to our own policy of only sourcing MSC-certified fish & Red Tractor assured meat. In fact, we are looking into becoming MSCcertified ourselves!
GOODBYE TO BEEF
We have reduced beef year-by year across all outlets, resulting in a 86% overall decrease since we published the Sustainable Food & Drink Policy.
This has been boosted by our introduction of wild culled venison in January this year, to replace beef in popular items like burgers, which has reduced beef consumption by a further 23% since February alone.
This venison emits only 27% of the CO2 emissions associated with farmed beef and is a by-product of culling efforts that promote biodiversity and the growing of new forests around the UK.
Having trialed the replacement of venison in SCR, we are now expanding its use as we update menus and we are on track to phase beef out entirely ahead of our 2025/6 target.
We’ve made a conscious effort to make sure the removal of beef does not result in an increase of other meats and are in the process of additionally removing lamb from our menus.
DISPOSABLES
Across Catering & Events we have eliminated around 30,000 single-use cups per year.
The 30p levy on coffee cups has drastically reduced the number of disposable cups used every day.
We have removed single-use plastic cups entirely from water stations and events catering, offering glass alternatives and encouraging people to fill their own water bottles.
All plastic cutlery has been swapped to biodegradable wood-based implements.
DISPOSABLES
1. Issue Customer is issued with container
We are currently talking to partners about trailing a reusable food container scheme next academic year.
This could help to reduce the 350,000 disposables we get through every year. Estimates suggest we could reduce 50% of the CO2 emissions created by disposables, as well as saving upwards of £14,000 a year.
2. Register Container’s QR code is scanned
3. Deposit Customer pays a small deposit by app or card
4. Return Customer scans & returns container, receives deposit
DAIRY, FREE
Since August 2023, all non-dairy milks are now free of charge across all outlets, which has led to a drop in dairy milk consumption
Our new oat milk provider, Glebe Farm, uses 100% British oats from farms powered by biomass & solar energy.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
We encourage customers to try more sustainable options through engagement & signposting.
We have expanded the Plantworks brand to signpost plant-based options with digital roundels and recycled paper stickers.
We continue to use our sustainable choices badge to show where we have provided a more sustainable choice.
At times like Veganuary and Sustainability Fortnight we have staff at outlets in Plantworks & Sustainable Choices t-shirts, ready to engage with customers about options.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
We now use the aquafaba left over from our tinned chickpeas to make our own mayo.
This saves 26,000 eggs & 1,700 plastic tubs/ year in the main South Kensington kitchen alone.
We are looking at expanding this practice across all our outlets.
We are also introducing juices & smoothies made from wonky fruit and veg, starting this Summer in The Bakery.
REDUCE, RE-USE
Our new filtering system for cooking oil saves 16,000 litres of oil/ year & reduces consumption by 50%.
This represents a saving of more than £26,000/ year.
It also means fewer deliveries and fewer plastic bottles meaning less emissions and less waste.
IN THE KITCHEN
Our new Meiko plate wash is up to 38% more energy efficient than the old machine, using less water chemicals and energy.
Our new Granuldisk Pot Wash is another step towards a more sustainable kitchen.
It is projected to save us annually:
• 1231 litres of cleaning chemicals
• 852,000 litres of water
• 30231 kWh of energy
• 1225 hours of labour
• £23,000 overall costs
CENTRAL PRODUCTION KITCHEN
Current position
The kitchen facility currently consumes approximately:
• 1.6m kWh per year(G&E)
• Emitting 300,000 kgCO2e per annum
In Autumn 2022 we approached Hospitality Energy Saving and Sustainability (HEISS) to help us plan a full replacement of our main Central Production Kitchen in the Sherfield Building.
This represents an important opportunity to lower consumption not only to align with our Sustainable Food and Drink Policy but to achieve Imperial’s net zero carbon aspirations.
