Foodservice Industry Briefing

Stay up to date with Footprint’s briefing on the latest movements in the foodservice industry

Get real about the race to net zero

In the rush to make a public net zero commitment some companies are failing to question the intrinsic sustainability of their business models, argues Nick Hughes. Has your business set a net zero target for carbon emissions? If the answer is no then there’s every chance you’ll soon be in the minority. When the government…
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Are ‘zero landfilling’ commitments rubbish?

Zero waste to landfill is a dated environmental target that really means waste is being burned not buried – and that isn’t always a good thing, says David Burrows. Greene King recently announced that it had achieved its target to send “zero waste to landfill”. The achievement “sets a benchmark for the hospitality industry”, said…
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Will Covid be a catalyst for shorter supply chains?

The pandemic has spawned a resurgence of interest in local food. But the economic drivers for centralised sourcing and distribution remain strong. Nick Hughes reports. In the middle of lockdown, isolating at home in Kent due to a sniffling toddler and with supermarket delivery slots reserved for the vulnerable and those with a degree in…
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Labour pains

An absence of seasonal workers has left fruit farmers relying on a “land army” of students and hospitality workers to harvest their crops. Will they be cut out for it, asks David Burrows. Things change quickly during this coronavirus crisis. A couple of weeks ago, the focus was on the tens of thousands of jobs…
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Eating Better targets 50% chop in meat consumption

The ambitious goal, to be achieved by 2030, would represent the most radical shift in diets since the Second World War, writes Nick Hughes From cutting sugar to ditching plastics, foodservice businesses are no strangers to being set demanding targets. But the latest call to action around meat reduction may be the most ambitious yet.…
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Compostables: (138,000) tonnes of potential

A new report examines the costs and benefits of compostable packaging for the UK market. David Burrows takes a closer look. The Plastics in the Bioeconomy report published this month may well have passed you by. However, the 50-odd pages, compiled by Ricardo Energy & Environment for the Biomass Refinery Network, offered arguably the first…
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Muddled food policy puts UK at bottom of the class

This year’s Food Sustainability Index ranks the UK among the laggards of Europe – and that’s before Brexit hits the industry. By Nick Hughes. Just as Brexit negotiations threaten to reach a harmonious conclusion (we can dream, can’t we?) news breaks that gives Britain’s EU neighbours fresh cause to cast disdainful gazes across the Channel.…
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Is palm oil pledge worth the paper it’s written on?

Companies are pondering their next move after experts raised questions over the environmental value of the CSPO scheme. By David Burrows. There is “no significant difference” between Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) and non-certified when it comes to environmental protection. The claims, in a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, heap further pressure…
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Briefing: what does blockchain mean for the food industry

The technology that underpins bitcoin could also be a vital weapon in securing supply chains all the way from farm to fork. By Nick Hughes. What exactly is it? Blockchain was created in 2008 as a virtual ledger for trading digital assets without the need for a bank to act as an intermediary. Users have…
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Storm clouds gather over Brexit

Food industry experts are far clearer on the dangers of a hard exit than politicians, writes David Burrows. In a fortnight’s time, on December 14th, EU leaders are expected to meet in order to decide whether negotiations on Brexit can move to phase two – in other words, from all the stuff about separation (the…
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