Can you afford to ignore sustainability? Two operators on coping with the cost of going green

‘Doubling down on decarbonisation’

Kevin Watson, sustainability director, Levy

Levy has made huge strides in sustainability over the past five years, but that doesn’t mean we’re now scaling back our efforts. Quite the opposite: we’ve grown our sustainability team by 600% over the past 18 months so we’re doubling down on driving our deep decarbonisation journey forward, and at pace. 

We can do this precisely because of the time and effort we’ve taken to ensure our people understand why good sustainability practices matters to a food and drink business like ours, what and how we’re implementing it and how we’re holding ourselves accountable.

Successfully embedding this mindset and practice into every corner of a large, complex (and growing) business like Levy is the result of educating and enabling teams from the ground up. New governance, accountability, processes and wide-ranging, inspirational education and training: all these have played a huge role in creating a sustainability-focused culture, whether it’s a sustainability workshop, a two-day course in plant-based desserts, learning about biodiversity and soil health on our award-winning co-sponsored Biohub in North Yorkshire or a masterclass in wild venison. 

The wild venison day was designed by chef Thomas Rhodes, our recently appointed head of culinary in procurement and sustainability. This new role is to ensure compliance in ingredient purchasing as well as lead culinary education in nose-to-tail and root-to-tip preparation, seasonality and sustainability. 

Sustainability education starts as soon someone joins Levy: just weeks ago, I led new managers in playing a Monopoly-style Levy Sustainability Challenge, a great way to introduce the pillars of our sustainability strategy: environment, nature and health.

None of this takes away from Levy’s core reason for being: to deliver world-class food, drink and hospitality. But to my mind, our focus on sustainable practice makes our food, drink and hospitality stronger – for people and the planet. I hope other companies are inspired to follow our lead.

‘Keeping sustainability centre stage is not just about values – it’s about winning customers’

Julie Owst, head of sustainability, Bidfood 

Sustainability is central to our vision of being a positive force for change. Within our industry, the focus on sustainable practices has evolved and the understanding that there’s far more to food sustainability than carbon alone has increased, with nature and biodiversity growing in prominence. 

From a consumer viewpoint, some are making their expectations clear, with seven in 10 saying sustainability is an important factor when deciding which out-of-home venue to visit, and 45% willing to pay more for food and drink if it comes from sustainable sources. 

Operators that fail to act risk losing relevance, while those that embrace sustainable practices stand to gain both loyalty and long-term resilience.

From headlines to practical action

Encouragingly, there are signs of progress. The Caterer’s survey found that 40% of businesses have introduced new sustainable practices in the past year and we’ve seen firsthand how a further 26% have made changes to source food more ethically, again, reflecting an evolving focus, rather than a decline. 

While certain themes have dropped from industry headlines, such as the boom in vegan alternatives or the demonisation of beef, the conversation has matured. Concerns around ultra-processed plant-based substitutes, for instance, have accelerated a move towards more balanced, flexitarian menus. By combining vegetables and pulses with smaller amounts of meat, operators can reduce environmental impact while improving nutrition and protecting margins.

At the same time, there’s growing recognition that sustainability extends well beyond carbon. Issues such as biodiversity, regenerative farming and supply chain resilience are increasingly prominent. With climate change driving commodity shortages and price increases in products such as olive oil, coffee and orange juice, food supply is under constant pressure.

Supporting operators with practical tools

The complexity of sustainability can feel daunting, especially for the 34% of caterers who feel they’re behind. So, we’re always offering a helping hand with dedicated sustainability resources, providing practical support to help customers embed sustainable practices. This includes a series of fact sheets, a seasonality guide, blogs and podcasts via the plate2planet hub, all designed to share knowledge and drive progress.We also focus on:

• Monitoring forthcoming legislation so that we’re always prepared to support our customers
• Evolving customer sustainability priorities to make sure that we can meet their evolving needs
• Upskilling and training our employees so they’re equipped to initiate customer conversations about sustainability, and position this as a value-adding proposition, not only to ourselves but for our customers

We’ve improved transparency on provenance, from British beef sourcing to Leaf Marque-certified produce. We’re also working on creating a new Responsible Range, which will be a selection of products that have a strong, purpose-driven social and/or environmental story relating to their provenance, beyond the standard certifications that may apply to products. And our collaboration with CarbonCloud will allow product-specific carbon footprints across our full range, helping customers reduce impact and encourage suppliers to improve emissions across their products’ lifecycle. 

We’re also responding to customer pressure to reduce plastic. In a recent case study, we showcased how an own-brand grated cheese supplier reduced their packaging and carbon impact by altering the packaging. Our logistics operations are also cutting emissions through aerodynamic body kits fitted on all new trucks and trials of Ecooltec transport refrigeration units, using ultra-low global warming potential natural refrigerants.

The challenges are complex, but the pressure to operate sustainably will only grow, and our efforts have been recognised through the FWD Gold Award for Most Sustainable Wholesaler in 2024 and favourable benchmarking by the Food Foundation across environmental and social credentials. For the hospitality industry, keeping sustainability centre stage is not just about values, it’s about winning customers, safeguarding supply chains and ensuring long-term success.

Read more about how businesses must keep up with sustainability policies in the latest response to the Business Leaders Survey

Photo: smrcoun/Shutterstock