Eurest, the national workplace caterer, has hosted an event in partnership with Compass Scotland to bring together change makers in the hospitality industry to discuss some of the biggest issues in sustainability.
The ‘Making Change’ event was held at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo.
It centered on a diverse panel of speakers, including: Morag Freathy, Managing Director of Business & Industry at Compass Group UK & Ireland; Liz Forte, Health, Wellbeing & Sustainability Director for Compass’ B&I sector; Mauro Ortelli, Managing Director at 14forty; Stuart Hayward-Higham from Suez Recycling & Recovery UK LTD; and more.
All leaders in their respective fields, the speakers discussed how foodservice, facility management and waste management can help businesses meet their Net Zero goals. They also talked about how leaders can encourage their people to engage with the sustainability agenda and what role food should play in the workplace.
In addition to the discussions, 50 guests including stakeholders and clients enjoyed a seasonal, local and plant-forward six-course lunch, served and prepared by Compass’ team of expert chefs with the menu’s environmental impact in mind.
Compass Scotland and ESS’ Culinary Director, Graham Singer, talked attendees through the menu and discussed the low-waste elements of each dish. People were introduced to the new ‘Eco Scores’ used for the menu, a traffic light style system to rate dishes on their carbon footprint, which have been developed in collaboration with researchers at Oxford University.
Morag Freathy, Managing Director of B&I, said, “The event was a fantastic opportunity to gather together leaders in various elements of the hospitality industry to discuss the challenges we’re facing and how to overcome them.
“At Compass Group UK & Ireland, we serve millions of customers per year in the UK and our Climate Net Zero target is industry leading. As such, we’re committed to facilitating events like this, where we work in partnership with clients towards even more progress and change across the industry.”
In 2021, Compass Group UK & Ireland launched its commitment to reach Climate Net Zero by 2030, alongside Our Climate Promise and Roadmap to Net Zero, which provide detail on the strategy to create a sustainable food system, including plans to source more local and seasonal ingredients from regenerative agriculture.