Sustainability
Operating the business in a sustainable way underpins all our strategic priorities and is an essential part of the way we want to do business. We have therefore purposefully interlinked sustainability with our strategic priorities so that it becomes part of our culture. Our strategy is in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and we are committed to considering the implications of our business model, objectives and strategy in light of these objectives.
Our overall targets are:
- Greenhouse gas footprint - reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by FY 2030
- Food waste - reduce food waste by 20% by FY 2025
- Recycling - increase the proportion of waste recycled to 80% by FY 2025
The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the widely-accepted blueprint to achieve a more sustainable future, seeking to address the global challenges we currently face. The goals were agreed in 2015, since when businesses and governments across the world have been using them as a guide to meet environmental, economic and societal challenges.
On analysis of the underlying, specific ambitions of the 17 UN SDGs, 9 have been identified as directly applicable to Mitchells & Butlers by being within the Company's scope of impact.
The sustainability strategy we developed in 2019 year has been built around three pillars, namely sourcing, community and resources. By aligning our sustainability strategy with the identified 9 UN SDGs, we aim to ensure that focus remains on key areas of risk and opportunity which enable us to more effectively contribute to global priorities. Given the importance and scale of the work we have built a governance structure around the strategy to support the change needed, including a Board level committee.
Our objective and key actions against these three pillars are shown below:
Sourcing
Objective
Reduce the negative impact of our food and drink supply chain on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and deforestation
Key actions
- Participation in the World Resources Institute's Cool Food Pledge initiative which aims to reduce emissions of food supply chain with trials in two brands to being in FY 2022
- BBFAW tier 2 rating maintained and remains a key focus
- Supplier agreements set out sustainability expectations and standards supported by annual supplier conferences
- All direct palm oil from RFA approved sources, working with supplier on embedded soy
Community
Objective
Increase the positive effect on people impacted by the business, be they employees, guests or the wider community
Key actions
- Strategic partnerships with charities developed, including Shelter and Social Bite
- Enhanced employee wellbeing strategy and improved resources and tools available to employees
- Brand-driven relationships with local organisations and charities
- Modern Day Slavery policies enhanced following review performed by Stop the Traffik
Resources
Objective
Reduce the use of natural resources and find opportunities to contribute to the development of a circular economy
Key actions
- Founding member of the Zero Carbon Forum which aims to develop a roadmap for hospitality to achieve net zero emissions by 2040
- Greenhouse gas emission baseline completed on FY 2019, including scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
- Strategic initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions part of Ignite 3 programme
- Focus on reducing waste and increasing rate of recycling
- Identification of opportunities within the capital programme to enhance sustainability of buildings
Drinkaware
We're a major funder of Drinkaware. The Trust's aim is to promote responsible drinking by finding innovative ways to challenge the national drinking culture.