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With green issues high on everyone's agenda, Gram, the UK’s leading supplier of energy efficient refrigeration is calling all school caterers within the industry to take part in the Gram Green Paper report for 2012.

For the past 10 years, Gram has led the way in raising awareness of sustainability within the foodservice market and was the first to publish a series of ground-breaking, independent reports looking into the industry’s attitudes and behaviours towards a greener and more responsible future.

Priding itself as a pioneer of energy efficiency, Gram aims to help caterers reduce their carbon footprint and to see the benefits that being green will have on their business, both ethically and economically.

For 2012, Gram is hoping to continue this legacy that has been running since 2008 but needs help from caterers.

Gram is urging operators across all sectors to visit the Gram microsite to fill out an online questionnaire, the responses of which will be collated and analysed before forming part of the results and findings of the Gram Green Paper 2012.

In order to help raise awareness of the initiative and to encourage as many respondents as possible, Gram has teamed up with the leading channel associations within the industry, including LACA (Local Authority Caterers Association), TUCO ltd (The University Caterers Organisation), SRA (Sustainable Restaurant Association), CHA (Considerate Hoteliers Association) and NACC (National Association of Care Catering).

In addition to the education, restaurant, hotel and care home sectors, Gram will also be seeking respondents from within the pub and contract catering channels.

Lynda Mitchell, chair of LACA, said: “We are pleased to be working with Gram on the Green Paper 2012. The paper provides us with an invaluable insight into which foodservice sectors are successfully making progress when it comes to sustainability.

“It’s initiatives such as this, which enable us to evaluate the developments that have taken place over recent years and the ways in which key influencers attitudes are changing.

“By embracing the concept of sustainability and incorporating it into the everyday environment of schools, it’s becoming apparent that this area is fast becoming a way of life for everyone involved. It will be interesting to review the results of this year’s report and seeing how steps taken have made an impact over the past year.”

Glenn Roberts, managing director of Gram, said: “We are grateful of the support it has received from the LACA for their involvement in this initiative - we hope that as many people as possible take part in this research project.

“The foodservice industry is becoming increasingly conscious of the negative impact our lifestyle has on the environment and with green issues high on everyone's agenda, we believe it becomes the responsibility of manufacturers, like ourselves, to take the first step to leading the way and educating operators on ways they can reduce their impact, and contribute to a greener future.”

Operators are being urged to visit the web address www.gogreenwithgram.co.uk/gp2012 before June 4th and fill in the quick questionnaire.

All completed responses will be entered into a prize draw and a winner will be picked at random to receive a free, iPad 3. The results of the questionnaire will be announced in September.