Out of Home News Analysis

Out of home sector news analysis. Get the inside track on the key stories breaking in the out of home food and drink sector, from Footprint’s expert researchers and editorial team.

Mind the ethnicity pay gap

Mind the ethnicity pay gap
Campaigners argue that food businesses and their employees could be among the beneficiaries should the government make transparent reporting a legal requirement. Nick Hughes reports. Five years after the UK government decided the time had come for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, proponents of the policy have demanded that ministers finally make good on their…
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THE FRIDAY DIGEST: EPS, XPS and PS (the bans on some plastic start on Sunday)

THE FRIDAY DIGEST: EPS, XPS and PS (the bans on some plastic start on Sunday)
Our Digest this week covers the slump in the PM’s net favourability rating after that net-zero announcement last week, and how the morning brew and evening beer is under threat from climate change. But we start with the single-use plastic (SUP) bans that come into force on Sunday (October 1st). Polystyrene food and drink containers, plastic cutlery, plates bowls…
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Businesses to set health agenda – again

Businesses to set health agenda – again
An absence of non-industry representatives on a new working group on food and health has raised concerns that ministers are repeating the mistakes of the past. Nick Hughes reports. The make-up of the government’s new working group on health has been made public and it has not gone down well with campaigners. Just weeks after Footprint revealed that…
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Political Print: Don’t give up like Sunak has

Political Print: Don’t give up like Sunak has
The prime minister’s net-zero gamble is the final straw in a shambolic period for those striving for a sustainable food system. But companies slowing up on sustainability is the bigger worry, says David Burrows. The chaotic Conservative governments of recent years will long be remembered for many things, but for me memories of Boris (Johnson),…
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THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Sainsbury’s low CO2 cow hustle and responsibility deal 2.0

THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Sainsbury’s low CO2 cow hustle and responsibility deal 2.0
This week’s topical tittle-tattle starts with a U-turn, but not perhaps the one you were expecting – because Rishi Sunak decided to neuter the government’s net-zero plans at a moment that didn’t align with Footprint’s deadlines. Suffice to say: Oh deary me. We promise to have a more detailed analysis come Monday’s Political Print column. It is easy…
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Comment: Going giddy for Gizzi

Comment: Going giddy for Gizzi
A chance periodical purchase on the way to a regenerative agriculture conference in The Netherlands leaves me in a sustainable sandwich spin. By David Burrows. I am on my way to Amsterdam for the regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems summit, and browsing the magazine rack for something that’ll last the one-hour flight from Edinburgh…
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Net zero notebook: tick, tock; tick, tock

Net zero notebook: tick, tock; tick, tock
Apple shows time is not up for carbon neutral (yet) but these are concerning times for such claims. By David Burrows. This month’s offering begins with a story about watches; Apple ones to be precise – some of which are now carbon neutral. “Our first carbon neutral products were made in a uniquely Apple way, steeply…
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THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Academics rage against the McDonald’s machine, while Defra is in the dock over its (regenerative) agriculture and food waste policies.

THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Academics rage against the McDonald’s machine, while Defra is in the dock over its (regenerative) agriculture and food waste policies.

Footprint can reveal that 58 academics will write to MEPs on Monday voicing their concerns regarding a wave of industry-funded anti-reusable packaging research, some of which “directly contradicts” the European Commission’s impact assessment. The letter, coordinated by NGOs the Environmental Paper Network and Fern, will warn how the research, including life cycle assessments (LCAs) is “sowing doubt” concerning the necessity of reducing overall amounts of packaging and associated resource use. Suffice to say: we told you so.

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Sorting out the carbon claim chaff

Sorting out the carbon claim chaff
Brands continue to drop carbon neutral claims on the quiet and in the current climate of confusion and controversy you can understand why. By David Burrows. It is almost four months since we revealed that Leon was “phasing out” its carbon neutral claims on burgers and fries. Plenty has happened since: Sodexo, Nestlé and Evian have all made…
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Is transparency the loser in data climb down? 

Is transparency the loser in data climb down? 

The decision to make reporting of key health metrics voluntary risks wasting an opportunity to lift the lid on food business activities. Nick Hughes reports.
A sense of déjà vu is becoming a common experience for those who closely follow food policy. Following the delay to a ban on unhealthy food promotions and just weeks after the canning of plans for mandatory food waste reporting the government has got cold feet over plans to force food businesses to share data on key health metrics.
Footprint revealed last week that the plans initially set out last year have become the latest victim of ministers’ insistence that new policies must not add cost to businesses.

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