Hospitality suppliers running sustainable practices
Delivery trucks powered by cooking oil
Last year several foodservice providers pledged to reduce their carbon footprint by recycling waste cooking oil and using it to power their fleet of delivery vehicles.
Foodservice operator 3663 now powers three-quarters of its trucks with used vegetable oil obtained from its restaurants and suppliers and converted into biofuel by Convert2Green. The partnership is estimated to have reduced 3663’s carbon emissions by over 10,000 tons
Chi Lowhub, a food delivery firm operating out of Covent Garden Flower Market and Borough Market, has also partnered with Convert2Green to power its electric-hybrid fleet with used vegetable oil. On average, its vans produce just 16 per cent of the carbon emissions of an average diesel fuelled LGV.
Restaurants supplied by companies using biofuel-powered delivery vehicles will also be helping to make their own business sustainable.
www.lowhub.com
Free energy tracker from NPower
Npower estimates that small and medium businesses (SME’s) could be losing up to £3bn as a result of inefficient equipment and energy wastage, and has launched a solution to help businesses keep track of their energy expenditure.
Every SME signing up to NPower’s e3 package will be given free energy monitors, which will give a real time view of how much energy they’re using.
Easy to install, the monitors could help businesses save up to £1k a year through identifying ways to make their energy use more efficient.
Allan Robinson, head of products for Npower energy services, said: “Businesses using the monitors say they’re surprised by what actually uses energy in the workplace and they have really changed their behaviour to become more energy efficient. The monitors are an ideal way to take control of your energy use.”
www.npower.com/saveenergyin2010
The Fresh Olive Company bans tuna
The Fresh Olive Company, a major supplier of tuna products to the UK catering industry, last year removed all tuna species from its portfolio to safeguard the fish’s future.
After a report showed that tuna stocks were almost at extinction level in the Mediterranean, the company took action to encourage restaurateurs to serve other more sustainable fishes on their menus.
Only two tuna fisheries are presently accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council, an Albacore fishery in the US, and a skipjack fishery in Japan.
www.fresholive.com
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