Compass reduces emissions by 9.4% amid 20% business growth
Compass has also donated 185,000 meals to charities in the past 12 months, contributing to a total of 1 million meals redistributed via FareShare since 2014
Compass Group UK and Ireland has reported an absolute reduction in emissions of -9.4% across Scope 1,2,3 (FY19 baseline – FY23) amid a 20% growth in business.
This has been achieved, inclusive of the company’s “high” organic growth, acquisitions and joint ventures. By including Compass’ growth within its analysis, an estimated -25% reduction in carbon intensity has been calculated.
The group serves 214 million meals a year across 4000 locations and purchases of food and drink accounted for 62.5% of the caterer’s FY23 footprint, resulting in a -162,828 tCO2e reduction in emissions for the company.
One in four of the group’s recipes have also been rated as “low carbon impact” (A and B rated).
Compass has also donated 185,000 meals to charities in the past 12 months, contributing to a total of 1 million meals redistributed via FareShare since 2014.
Additionally, it has converted 753,252 litres of cooking oils into biofuels, reduced the use of cling film by 31 tonnes in FY23 and removed almost 50 million pieces of cutlery, 6.3 million plastic bottles, 1.4 million cans, and 3.9million sachets.
Looking ahead, Compass’ procurement arm, Foodbuy is launching a new Net Zero Pipeline for FY24, where category buyers will assess the environmental implications of one product against another. 50 potential carbon reduction initiatives have already been put forward in emissions intensive categories, e.g., beef and dairy
Professor Sir Charles Godfray, chief climate and sustainability advisor at Compass UK&I said: “I am confident Compass’ approach and resolve will have a measurable, positive impact on the business, its clients, the foodservice sector, and the wider economy. I also believe that companies like Compass, that anticipate the need to become sustainable, have a more resilient business model that will benefit the financial bottom line as well as contributing to keeping the planet inhabitable.”
Robin Mills, chief executive officer of Compass Group UK& I, added: “We always knew setting a 2030 target was ambitious, but it has helped to accelerate change in our business and drive positive behaviours as we seek to operate more sustainably in all that we do. It’s great to see that the actions we are taking are having an impact. At the outset we said we wanted to be transparent and share our learnings. I am delighted to be publishing our transition plan, which I hope provides great learnings for others to also work with.”
