In our latest Sustainability Bites podcast, in association with Nestlé Professional, we take a closer look at AI and the possible profound impact on sustainability endeavour in the hospitality sector.  We set out to define AI in the context of foodservice. We explore the main potential applications for AI and delve into where AI is already being deployed and to what effect. Against this backdrop, we closely examine:

• Food waste measurement and management
• Circular/connected packaging systems
• Energy consumption monitoring and efficiency
• Supply chain visibility/inventory management
• Greener transport logistics
• Precision farming
• ESG reporting and compliance (through real data analysis and collection)

We also shine a light on how businesses are weighing up the cost of investment in AI and the possible ROI, whilst analysing where investment cases are currently the strongest. And of course the elephant in the room: what are the workforce implications of AI  of greater adoption of AI. 

Join us and our panellists…..

• Svilen Boyadzhiev - Head of Technology (Digital, Retail & AI)
• Samuel Fianu - Digital Consumer Experience Lead, Nestlé
• Nick Hughes (chair) - Associate Editor, Footprint
• David Jackson - Marketing Director, Winnow

……for an insightful session on a subject the entire sector is getting to grips with.

In this episode of Sustainability Bites we do a deep-dive into industry progress on all matters Scope 3. Scope 3 remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges. Some are making great strides, others not so. Tune in to hear from industry thought-leaders on the frontline of Scope 3 endeavour. Learn about some of the common challenges, pitfalls and successes. 

Panel:

Claire Atkins-Morris - Sustainability Director, Sodexo UK & Ireland
Cameron Holder - Head of Commercial, Sustainability & Strategic Projects, Wahaca
Nick Hughes - Associate Editor, Footprint
Julia Jones - Head of Sustainability & Corporate Communications, Nestlé Professional

Listen in to hear our Sustainability Bites podcasters discuss:

Data:

• How has the quality and granularity of scope 3 data improved.
• What does better data mean for reporting against emissions reduction targets/comparisons versus baselines/rebaselining.
• Efforts to standardise how scope 3 emissions are measured and reported through e.g. CSRD/ISSB?
• The main ongoing challenges/gaps around data (e.g. disaggregation of emissions by type/accounting for FLAG emissions).

Reduction Activity:

• What are the main levers to pull to reduce scope 3 emissions? 
• Reformulation, sourcing practices - regen ag, waste reduction, packaging switches etc. 
• Working with the supply chain to generate robust data?
• To what extent we can rely on new technologies to achieve scope 3 reduction versus demand-side shifts.
• The main barriers to delivering sustained reductions in scope 3 emissions.

The business/supply chain:

• Support needed from within the business to deliver against scope 3 targets. 
• Key dependencies outside of your business and how to work with them to deliver Scope 3 ambitions.
• Key areas where collaboration with suppliers – and competitors. Can this deliver greater impact, faster...

Tune in to inform your Scope 3 strategy

As part of Nestlé Professional’s ‘Choose Hospitality Pledge’ we’re delighted to release the latest in the series of Sustainability Bites podcasts - Hospitality & Foodservice: The Future Of Talent. 
 
In line with the Choose Hospitality Pledge’s objectives we hosted an enlightening panel discussion addressing young people’s negative perception of the sector and how we encourage more young people into the sector. 
 
The podcast examines the sector’s challenges, opportunities and what the strategic priorities in recruitment and talent acquisition should be. The panel analyses the UK regulatory environment, and we take a close look at key trends as well as short and long term solutions to one of the sector’s greatest challenges. 
 
Chaired by Footprint's Nick Hughes, our panel for the podcast is as follows..

Amanda McDade, National Head of Careers & Education, Springboard
Julia Jones, Head of Sustainability & Corporate Communications, Nestlé Professional UK&I
Martin McDonald, Apprenticeships Lead, Sodexo UK&I
Steven Edwards, Chef/Owner, Etch

Plastic reduction remains a key priority for out of home businesses as they seek to achieve their climate and nature goals. This in turn has created huge interest in alternative packaging materials such as paper as well as novel materials like seaweed, but are businesses making the right choices when switching out of plastic?

This podcast Packaging: materials & substitution in association with Nestlé Professional, explores the current strategic priorities of businesses where packaging sustainability is concerned and considers questions including:

• What alternative materials to plastic are getting the most traction in an out of home setting and why?
• On what criteria are businesses assessing the use case for alternatives to plastics?
• How are companies measuring and reporting the sustainability credentials of different materials and how can they guard against accusations of greenwashing?
• How is the UK regulatory environment influencing business’s choice of packaging materials?

On the green sofa for this podcast are a number of protagonists in the packaging field who, whilst approaching the issue from differing perspectives, all have an eye to the future making for a fascinating discussion.

• James Marsh - Senior Packaging Specialist, Nestlé UK
• Martin Kersh - Executive Director, Foodservice Packaging Association
• Justin Turquet - Director of Sustainability, Bunzl Catering & Hospitality
• David Burrows - Associate Editor, Footprint

Sustainability Bites, in association with Nestle Professional, is a podcast which unpicks the key sustainability issues affecting the hospitality and foodservice sector. In this episode we explore the current strategic priorities of businesses where packaging sustainability is concerned and consider questions including:

• What alternative materials to plastic are getting the most traction in an out of home setting and why?
• On what criteria are businesses assessing the use case for alternatives to plastics?
• How are companies measuring and reporting the sustainability credentials of different materials and how can they guard against accusations of greenwashing?
• How is the UK regulatory environment influencing business’s choice of packaging materials?

Sustainability Bites, in association with Nestle Professional, is a podcast which unpicks the key sustainability issues affecting the hospitality and foodservice sector. This episode focuses on the hot topic of waste.

But this is not just another podcast on waste. With waste making up around 3% of

HaFS businesses footprints, we ask - is waste really a strategic priority? And if so, why?

How can we overhaul our industry’s existing piecemeal approach to tacking waste to

drive transformational change? And we will paint a picture of a waste-free future that

can be achieved using the technology available to us today.

We will talk to Nestlé Professional, Sodexo and WRAP to discuss their achievements

in tackling packaging and food waste, as well as innovations in wider industry, such

as innovative new eco-options that can be recycled within existing infrastructure (e.g.

sea-weed based options), and reusables, such as those trialled by McDonalds or the

user-friendly reuse models being rolled out at venues and festivals.

Food waste has risen up the agenda because its significant carbon impact makes

reducing food waste vital to achieving net zero targets. Our panellists will share

insights of how organisations such as Nestlé and Sodexo are harnessing food saving

to achieve carbon and cost reductions.

• Sokhna Gueye - Head of Packaging, Nestlé UK&I
• Sophie Whitfield - Head of Corporate Responsibility Engagement, Sodexo UK&I
• Eleanor Morris - Sector Specialist, WRAP
• Amy Fetzer - Footprint, Chair

The cost of living crisis is often talked about in the context of individuals and families. However, little light is shed on its effects on the hospitality sector in general; let alone discerning its impacts between the cost and profit elements.
 
Despite the vaguest hint of respite in the inflation rates, the rising cost of goods and energy is having a profound impact on foodservice and hospitality. Whether it’s the disappearance of lunch trade, owners rebranding their restaurants to accommodate change in consumer behaviour, branch closures, re-thinking supply chains in operations or adapting to new offerings in B&I or education, the crisis is impacting the whole sector. 
 
There are calls for a cost of living package to pull hospitality back from the brink. There are small mercies such as extended trading hours for the Coronation and then, of course, there is the perpetual resilience of the industry adapting to crisis after crisis. But is this enough? Is enough support available? How much can an industry take…Brexit, Covid and now Cost of Living. What next?
 
The objective of this podcast is to delve into the ramifications of this latest challenge and examine the different impact the crisis is having respectively on both the cost and profit sectors. Also, to discuss how business has responded and what can be learnt from this adaptability.
 
The focus is to look at the here and now but also into the future with a degree of positivity towards a less troublesome time. Tune in to the podcast to hear the fascinating debate with:

• Nick Attfield - Director of Hospitality & Retail, Adnams
• Morag Freathy - Managing Director B&I, Compass Group
• Naz Haq - Head of Corporate Procurement, Bidfood
• Katya Simmons - Managing Director, Nestlé Professional
• Amy Fetzer - Footprint, Chair

This podcast seeks to disentangle the fast-evolving theme of Sustainable Diets with a view to creating more clarity as we approach events such as Veganuary. It also serves as a preface to a Footprint White Paper due to be launched in November. Topics discussed by our panelists are how to define a sustainable diet given how fast knowledge is evolving. What frameworks can the sector work to. We explored current and future trends. We took a close look at plant based, the meat reduction debate and also the context of health. We furthermore explored the supply chain; Scope 3 emissions and regenerative agriculture vs soil health as well as animal welfare. Finally, we also shone a spotlight on eduction and communication; worker skills, menu design, understanding Scope 3 and its implications in the context of consumer dialogue and comms. 

Tune in to the podcast to hear the fascinating debate with:

• Chantelle Nicholson – Chef Patron, Apricity 

• Emily Pinkney – Head of Sustainability, Sysco Speciality Foods 

• Marisa Heath – Chief Executive, Plant-based Food Alliance 

• Anna Collins – Nutrition Manager, Nestlé 

• Amy Fetzer (in copy) - Footprint, Chair

Never before has it been as much of a challenge to attract talent into the hospitality industry. Not only operationally back of house and front of house, but also up and down the supply and value chains. It is one of the biggest challenges the sector faces. 

Footprint’s objective is as much environmental sustainability as it is social and with Nestlé Professional investing so heavily into future proofing the sector in terms of human resource, this podcast seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities the sector faces and how to navigate them. Our objective is to encourage broader debate on this subject and for this episode's discussion we are joined by the following industry experts:

• John Holden - Chair & Founder Member of Bridging The Skills Gap; Food & Beverage Lecturer, Cheshire South and West College
• Julia Jones - Head of B2B Marketing, Nestlé Professional
• Amanda McDade - National Head of Careers & Education at Springboard
• Sophie Taylor  - Chef de Partie at the Gleneagles Townhouse and 2021 Toque d’Or Front of House Student Winner, 2022 Toque d’Or Front of House Judge
• Nick Hughes – Associate Editor, Footprint (Chair)

In this, the first episode we discuss the in vogue subject of regenerative farming. But what does regenerative farming actually mean? Is it another buzz-phrase in the sustainability landscape? Or is it a concept that we should all be informed and knowledgeable about?
 
This podcast sets out what regenerative farming actually is; what its implications are up and down supply and value chains; and what it means to the foodservice industry. We explore the right questions to ask and the knowledge gaps that need to be filled in the company of a panel made up of the following food industry experts. 

• Nick Hughes – Associate Editor, Footprint (chair)
• Cliona Duffy – Head of Commercial Partnerships, RSPCA Assured
• James Smith – Managing Director, Loddington Farm & Owlet Fruit Juice
• Robin Sundaram – Responsible Sourcing Manager, Nestlé
• Lee Truelove – Responsible Sourcing Manager, First Milk

The discussion looks to the future and investigates the onward impacts of regenerative agriculture on the foodservice and hospitality sector and the difference your business can make by embracing the concept.