Shirley Duncalf is head of sustainability at Bidvest Foodservice, one of the UK’s leading foodservice providers. Here she talks to Liz Jones about how she drives the sustainability agenda in a company that ensures hotels, pubs, schools, universities and care homes across the country serve up quality food on their menus.
Shirley first joined the company in 1995 as an environmental health officer. “Sustainability and CSR were very much seen as an add-on in those days,” she recalls. But that’s all changed now with Shirley proud of the fact that her efforts – and those of her team of 60+ sustainability co-ordinators – have made sustainable business practice a core part of company culture. While embedded, it also has focus. The company’s sustainability plan has four pillars: Environment, Product, People and Community. And they all have targets.
“Our biggest target is to cut our carbon emissions by 2.5% year on year and electricity consumption by 5% by 2020 (based on 2014 levels),” she explains. “We’re also aiming for a 5% reduction in water consumption and becoming zero waste to landfill. We reported at the end of June and we’re not far off our landfill target that currently stands at 95.1%. We’re doing well on recycling too which was 71% by the end of June with a new target of 75% by the end of June 2017.”
When it comes to the products it sells, the business is aiming for 100% use of sustainable palm oil in its own brand products – “We’re practically there” – and has a salt reduction target of 50%. “In June 2016 we were already at 46%.”
There is the dilemma that Bidvest Foodservice has to supply what the customer wants and while it is looking at increasing its sustainable fish supply, the demand has to be there. “We are seeing a greater move towards sustainable product choice from customers,” she emphasises. “Even in non-food brands such as napkins, food containers and waste bags.”
The company has recently signed up to the Courtauld 2025 Commitment too, an ambitious voluntary agreement, set up by WRAP, that brings together organisations across the food system – from producer to consumer – to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable. Its aim is to cut the waste and greenhouse gas emissions associated with food and drink by at least one-fifth per person in 10 years and improve water stewardship, with cumulative savings of around £20bn.
One of the company’s biggest sustainable achievements in 2016 was through its partnership with One Water, the ethical bottled water brand that specialises in funding sustainable water projects in some of the world’s poorest countries. Against a target to increase its sales of One Water by more than 30% during 2015/16, it in fact increased sales by 136%.
Since supporting One Water nine years ago, the company has raised over £130,000 to help fund One Foundation projects. These funds have enabled the construction of 15 new water pumps in Malawi and Lesotho, along with the formation, training and provision of tools to 15 local groups to ensure they are maintained. The organisation has also rehabilitated 20 non-functional water pumps in rural communities along with funding training for villagers to provide the skills for on-going maintenance.
Shirley is also on a drive to build internal engagement on sustainability. With Bidvest Foodservice boasting 4,000 employees at different depots across the country that’s no small task.
In 2017 the focus will be around the British bee population so there’ll be fund raising, education initiatives and increased support for local beekeepers by its sites. “Bees are a good link to our business, being providers of food,” she explains.
Shirley’s passion for sustainability is replicated in her team of 69 sustainability co-ordinators. “I’d be lost without them,” she says. “They are the ones who make it happen on the ground.”
Last year 14 Bidvest Foodservice depots got involved when the campaign centred on World Environment Day. “Each site was able to personalise its approach so some raised funds for local animal rescue centres while others adopted an animal,” she says.
She is hoping to gain even greater engagement in 2017. One of her methods is in keeping the sustainability message as straightforward as possible. “The first few sustainability reports we did were like War and Peace. It puts people off,” she maintains.
These days reports are simpler and eye-catching – only 26 pages – with lots of graphics. “We’re now filming alongside the report too in order to bring it to life online,” she says. (Look out for the film footage that is provided with the latest sustainability report and the details of the Chepstow depot and the solar panels on the site.) “There’s plenty of bite-size information in the report too so that the team can use the material on site.”
For example travel initiatives have saved an estimated 1.1m road miles and the company has helped over 2,300 schools attain the Food for Life Catering Mark. “These are the kind of messages you can pin on the notice board to raise awareness,” she suggests.
She’s a fan of other corporate cultures on the sustainability journey: “I’m impressed by Marks & Spencer’s Plan A. It really is awe-inspiring. They have such focus and never stray away from their plan or their targets.”
MacDonald’s is another. “They have come in for such criticism over the years and now they’re really turning themselves around. The efforts they have put into free range farming and front of house recycling are to be applauded.”
Bidvest Foodservice is one of the founders of plate2planet, a relatively new online platform – set up in 2015 – that urges players in the UK foodservice industry to collaborate in order to push the sustainability agenda.
“Collaboration is absolutely fundamental to what we do today and for the future. From food waste, which costs the sector £720m per year, to lowering sugar levels and ensuring a sustainable supply chain, collaboration and communication is what we need to do today for the future generation,” she believes.
“Through plate2planet, we want to provide a platform for sustainability across the industry – a place to spearhead dialogue and make positive changes within foodservice. The expansion and popularity of the website over the past year is phenomenal. Things are changing, and as an industry we have an opportunity to make a big difference.”
You can access Bidvest Foodservice’s sustainability report 2016 here.
http://www.plate2planet.co.uk/about/bidvest-sustainability-reporting/
