The finalists are:
Fuller, Smith & Turner
With an ethos of ‘life is too good to waste’, Fuller’s has a serious commitment to the planet, the communities the business serves and its people.
All of the company’s pubs and hotels in its managed estate have been awarded the BII Sustainability Champion status – making Fuller’s the first firm to have its entire managed estate recognised in this year.
The pub group has aims to procure 100% renewable energy across its managed estate and support centre sourced from wind, solar and hydroelectricity and is planning to achieve net zero in its operations by 2030.
Furthermore, the business has also teamed up with Rest Less – a digital platform for the over 50s – to help ease recruitment by enticing older workers back into employment. It also supports wide range of charities, raising and donating money for good causes.
Greene King
Greene King is committed to operating in a long term, sustainable way and aims to reducing its impact on the environment so it is protected for generations to come.
As part of this, the business set its near term greenhouse gas reduction targets and a carbon net zero target of 2040.
It is focusing on phasing out natural gas and switch to air source heat pumps and all electric kitchens, looking to procure and generate renewable electricity, reducing energy usage through greater efficiency alongside working with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions and create circular solutions.
Greene King is also a signatory of the Courtauld Commitment to cut food waste by half by 2030 and as part of this, distributes food to foodbanks and through Too Good To Go as well as recycling remaining food waste into energy that feeds back into the national grid.
Oakman Group
Sourcing good food and drink while running a business that leaves things a little better is what Oakman Group is all about.
Food on offer across the estate comes from family-run butchers, fish from Marine Stewardship Council approved suppliers, while coffee is traceable through the finest Fairtrade beans.
Furthermore, the sales of coffee and children’s drinks in its venues help offset CO2 emissions through a partnership with Tree Nation, where Oakman has planted more than 1m trees, offsetting over 25,000 tonnes of carbon.
The business also has its own 1.2-acre kitchen garden at the Akeman Inn, Kingswood in Buckinghamshire including more than 500 native trees, with the aim of creating a series of highly productive plots that allow for rotational planting, propagation and healthy, sustainable crops for the pub to use in its daily specials.
St Austell
Investing in regeneration is one area of focus for St Austell to help it achieve its net zero targets by 2040.
The Cornwall-based business target six emission hotspots to help reduce ins carbon while in recent years, it switched to a 100% renewable and sustainable CO2 supply at both its production sites in St Austell and Bath.
Moreover, the business has also joined forces with local sharing app Olio, which helps cut down on food waste by redistributing whatever is left at the end of each day to nearby residents.
Another example of waste reduction for the business is the fact it is zero waste to landfill across its managed estate.
