Sustainability

We are committed to continually improving our position on this wonderful planet by fulfiling our purpose as a business in a sustainable way.

We want our commitment to be in specific and impactful actions, not just words, so this Environmental and Sustainability Policy has been produced to be open, honest and achievable.

We wish to do our bit but need our employees, suppliers and customers to do their bit too! Please help us all make a difference together. We will update this policy as and when changes occur.

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• You can download a copy of this Policy here

Suppliers

We have chosen to work with suppliers that understand our intent to operate in a sustainable manner and respect our planet. Our core suppliers operate strict ethical standards and traceability within their supply chains and have a zero-tolerance approach to inhumane conditions such as slavery and exploitation. They are working to minimise any negative environmental, social or ethical impacts, while preserving excellent product quality. They operate a British-first policy – offering British and regional products when possible and in season. They are committed to removing single use black plastic from their business and reducing plastic disposables.

We are working with our suppliers to minimise the number of deliveries that they make to our branches.

Packaging

Our aim is to reduce single use plastic (from our suppliers to you). We have already began this by:

• replacing plastic cups with paper compostable cups
• removing single use plastic cutlery and replacing it with a timber-based alternative that comes from a renewable resource and is biodegradable
• designing and engineering beautiful multi-use bamboo board platters and bamboo bowls to migrate away from plastic platters.

Read why we have chosen bamboo here!

We do still use plastic within our business but any plastic we use is PET grade for recycling purposes. The lids on our bamboo platters and bowls are made from plastic that is easy to recycle.

We plan to remove all black plastic from our business by 2020 because this form cannot be recycled. We will be replacing it with a PET alternative so it can be recycled. Black plastic platters currently in use should be returned to us in every case, so that we can process them with minimum impact on the environment. 

Paper

Our paper plates, menu cards and napkins are all from renewable resources.

To reduce paper in our business, we send invoices and statements electronically by default, and make them available to all our customers to access and download online 24/7. 

Food waste

Whilst wishing to offer a great variety to our customers, we are careful to use ingredients that can be included in different menus, to avoid excessive food waste. Our production systems help us calculate more accurately the amount of food we need to order each week.  

Our food is always labelled correctly and stored safely to ensure its freshness.

Chemicals

Where possible we use environmentally friendly, biodegrable products within our catering units and avoid the use of hard chemicals like bleach and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Employees

Our employees are educated to keep delivery journeys to a minimum, to reduce the amount of fuel being consumed by vehicles. Our delivery drivers are educated to plan their routes to customers in the most efficient way.

Our employees are asked to reduce the use of paper, ink and electricity used by minimising printing, printed post, lighting and general energy consumption.

We are increasing the number of meetings and training sessions held over the internet with employees, rather than in person, to increase efficiency and reduce travel.

How can our customers help?

1. We have introduced our beautiful bespoke bamboo platters and bamboo bowls for sustainable (and stunning) presentation of your buffet catering. We can only continue to supply these if EVERY platter and bowl is returned. We have invested considerable sums to develop these innovations and trust our customers to support us and support the planet we all love, by returning all packaging to us for repurposing
    
2. Please be as considerate (and organised!) as possible with ordering your buffet catering. Late orders and extra deliveries mean less efficient journeys by our delivery vehicles, and more fuel consumed
    
3. Our online ordering system is available 24/7. Use this to access all your invoices - so there's no need for paper copies.

Thank you for your support.