Foodservice Footprint British-chicken Nando’s to serve more plants to cut carbon Foodservice News and Information  news-email

Nando’s to serve more plants to cut carbon

Nando’s has committed to halving the carbon footprint of its average meal by 2030 as part of a range of measures to achieve zero direct emissions.

The restaurant group plans to achieve the target by increasing the number of plant-based options on its menu and making all UK restaurant gas supplies 100% renewable.

It added it would support its suppliers to reduce their own carbon footprint and use its position on the UK roundtable on sustainable soy to reduce deforestation.

Nando’s also ruled out sourcing chlorinated chicken and reaffirmed its commitment to using 100% British chicken.

As part of efforts to combine improvements in environmental sustainability with animal welfare, Nando’s has signed the Better Chicken Commitment, which commits the group to fully implementing higher standards of welfare for chickens in its supply chain by 2026.

It will also support studies to advance understanding of how it can further reduce the impact of chicken feed on its carbon footprint. This may include exploring the sustainability of novel feeds such as insects and algae although these are not yet being used in Nando’s supply chain.

Nando’s said it had already reduced the carbon footprint of the average meal by 40% since 2015. Its new target to achieve absolute zero direct emissions and reduce the carbon footprint of the average Nando’s meal by almost 50% by 2030 has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.

“Over the last four years our sustainability initiatives have significantly reduced our carbon footprint, but today we are launching ambitious new commitments which will set a strong example for what our industry can do to make a genuine difference,” said Colin Hill, Nando’s CEO for UK and Ireland.

Commenting on Nando’s Better Chicken Commitment, Dr Tracey Jones, director of food business at Compassion in World Farming said: “Nando’s has made this commitment at a time of great uncertainty, particularly in the foodservice sector, as the world deals with the effects of covid-19. Now, more than ever, responsible food production with the animal and environment at its heart, is of the utmost importance and we applaud Nando’s forging ahead with their plans.”