A new industry board has been appointed that will head up a nationwide business campaign designed to create a unified voice for the positive role and power of food in improving productivity in the workplace.
Formed by leading communicator in business opinion and debate, EP Business in Hospitality, the Fuelling Productivity campaign has attracted close to 30 key industry players to its board all driven by the impact the great food and service can have on social connectivity and general wellbeing in business.
United in the need for change and with the objective of taking positive steps forward around productivity and wellness, the board will discuss and debate real issues that impact businesses in day-to-day life and how food is key to supporting talent and the need for stronger workplace cultures.
Chris Sheppardson, CEO at EP Business in Hospitality, who is leading the campaign said, “Often in business it’s the simple things we miss, the everyday acts of basic community and culture that could, in truth, hold the key to unlocking the problems many businesses face today.
'Something that arguably sits at the heart of business culture and productivity is food. Through socialising and building stronger internal comms, food cannot only make a difference to business culture, work and productivity levels – it can also reduce stress and feelings of loneliness too.”
The campaign creates a voice for food to sit at the heart of culture, but not as a commodity or a cost to business, rather as an opportunity to create support and deliver change. Board members supporting the campaign come from a variety of industry backgrounds from hospitality, education, finance, technology and law.
“More and more data and research is emerging around the important role food plays in shaping productivity today not to mention its positive impact on culture and staff retention. Using food to fuel productivity might sound fairly straightforward as a concept but it can create a genuine dynamic for change as well as have a direct impact on presenteeism and the number of lost days through sickness too, which impacts directly on bottom line performance”, added Sheppardson.
The ‘Fuelling Productivity’ confirmed board members include:
Jim Cartwright, Chairman, Dine Catering (dishes from Dine pictured)
Paul Gardner, Nomura Bank
Bill Brogan, St.John’s College, Cambridge University
John Murphie, Deputy CEO, ISBA
Donald Sloan, Chair, Oxford Cultural Collective
Professor David Russell, Russell Partnership
Jon Hewett
Mark Davies, MD, ISS Food and Hospitality
Simon Houston, Founder, Houston & Hawkes
Kevin Watson, MD Amadeus
David Read, Prestige Purchasing
Dean Kennett, Founder, Fooditude
Bob Cotton – Industry adviser and former CEO of BHA
Lawrence Morison, MD, Business Coffee Solutions
David Houslander, Liquidline
John Harris, Sodexo
Nicola Morris, MD Sodexo
Rosemary Ferguson – author, nutritionist and model
Mark Mccann, Food First
Compass
Frank Bothwell, Thomas Franks
Karen Friebe, Bird & Bird
Mike Day, Indicater
Michael Hickman, Compass
Chris Stern, Stern Consultants
Ramesh Vala OBE
Mark Williams and Sara Stewart, Barings
