CSR and Sustainability

🌱 Responsible sourcing in hospitality requires focusing on the ethical and minimal impact sources, starting at the supply chain's beginning. Third-party certifications like Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, MSC blue tick, and organic certification help manage reputational and financial risks, especially with high-risk ingredients such as avocados, chillies, citrus, cocoa, coffee, nuts, palm oil, seafood, or soy. Certifications, while imperfect due to costs and admin barriers for small farmers, are still crucial for maintaining transparency, ensuring fair treatment of workers, avoiding greenwashing, and meeting customer demands for transparency.

🍷 Sustainable wine practices prioritize fair labor and social responsibility, with a focus on community well-being. Ania favors honest, passionate, often family-run vineyards over large corporations. Flat Earth Pizzas echoes this sentiment, valuing integrity, environmental respect, and minimal intervention, alongside supporting women winemakers. Candover Brook is highlighted for its community involvement, employing up to 60 people seasonally, aiming for increased local engagement. Smaller brands are associated with higher quality due to fewer stabilizers and additives compared to large-scale producers.

🍴 From 3rd to 9th March 2025, the UK charity Prept hosts the Prept. Showcase, which features seven culinary collaborations between top chefs and restaurants to fund food education for children. Events are scheduled at various UK restaurants, like 64 Degrees and etch., with prices ranging from £120 to £275 and £10pp donated to Prept. Optional wine pairings cost up to £90. Sponsors include Bragard, HexClad, and Ridgeview. Book at https://prept.foundation/showcase-2025/.

🌎 Preferred Travel Group launched its Climate Action Plan, partnering with the Travel Foundation to halve its carbon emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. The plan, building on the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, focuses on five key pathways: Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. CEO Lindsey Ueberroth emphasizes travel's responsibility to the planet. In collaboration with ecollective, the company conducted a baseline emissions inventory, aligning objectives with global climate frameworks, and identified actions for practical implementation. By 2025, they aim to refine policies and engage associates to foster a sustainable culture, with a focus on Scope 3 emissions from business travel and events.

🌳 Hinter plants 10 trees for each guest through a non-profit partnership, costing just $1/tree. The company also runs the hinter planet newsletter, and their spaces serve as showrooms for local artisans. They offer a membership with 20% off stays, exclusive merchandise, and premium content. Hinter charges management/marketing fees of 30-40%, and is planning a 15-unit landscape hotel project in Vermont.

🌏 Preferred Travel Group, in partnership with the Travel Foundation, launches a Climate Action Plan to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. Key pathways are Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. A baseline emissions inventory and a situation analysis kick-start the plan, with objectives aligned to the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Declaration. By 2025, the company aims to implement operational actions and strategic initiatives to reduce its environmental impact, focusing on business travel and events to tackle Scope 3 emissions.

🌎 Preferred Travel Group, in partnership with the Travel Foundation and ecollective, launched its Climate Action Plan to cut its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. Building on the Glasgow Declaration, the plan follows five pathways: Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. The company conducted a baseline emissions inventory, set objectives aligned with the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Declaration, and prioritized actions for strategic implementation. By 2025, priorities include enhancing emissions tracking and refining travel and event policies to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

🏆 The Charitable Endeavour Awards at the FEA conference on November 20 recognized extraordinary charitable support in the foodservice and hospitality sectors. Unox won the company category, raising £22,000 for the Burnt Chef Project with a 150kg combi oven carried to Ben Nevis. Lockhart Catering Equipment won the team category by cycling from London to Paris in 24 hours, raising £7,725 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research. Marc Sumner, who organized the Feast FC football match, won the group category, raising £3,000 for the Milly-Rose Stirrup Foundation. Andy Kershaw won the individual award by raising £14,000 for the Marston’s Charitable Foundation and The Sam Myatt Memorial through a London to Paris bike ride.