News

A new sustainability initiative, launched by Bidvest Foodservice, is aiming to revolutionise how the industry shares green knowledge, guidelines and best practice examples.

The new green alliance, plate2planet, has been set up between seven of the UK’s foodservice businesses. Unilever, Premier Foods, Delifance UK, Vegware, Planet First, Jacobs Douwe Egberts and Bidvest Foodservice have all joined the collaborative effort to improve sustainability in the industry.

Shirley Duncalf, head of sustainability at Bidvest Foodservice, said: "Our customers, and those of our plate2planet partners, care deeply about sustainability and operators across the industry are taking measures to tackle the challenges.

"Caterers are looking to drive successful green initiatives that truly add value to their own community, customers and their bottom line but many of them tell us they do not have the resources to research trends, find new suppliers or dissect complicated reports and Government documents. As a result, sustainable change is inching forward rather than propelling.

“We have listened to these concerns and responded to the need for better access. As a collective we have a wealth of knowledge that is unparalleled.

“Our aim, in sharing these resources in a single space, is to support the entire industry to make small but effective changes, which can ultimately have a huge impact on a global scale, and on profit margins.

“Our message is that by working together we can truly enact positive change.”

Together, the ‘sustainability seven’ aim to reduce the amount of unnecessary waste in hospitality and foodservice – the sector currently wastes three million tonnes every year which is the equivalent of 57 ships the size of the Titanic – and provide a digital platform of information to drive forward understanding and engagement.