BaxterStorey Scotland has been awarded the Sustainable Business Award at the CIS Excellence Awards, in partnership with City of Glasgow College.
The winners were announced at a black-tie dinner and ceremony hosted at Doubletree Hilton in Glasgow.
The Sustainable Business Award rewards caterers that have excelled in the reduction of their environmental impact through the implementation of a range of sustainable business policies. BaxterStorey’s sustainability initiatives and programmes were praised for their proactive approach to find innovative sustainable solutions.
One programme recognised by the judging panel was the ‘City Goes Green’ initiative. The College’s Student Association along with NQ Joinery Students and their Social Personal Development Students have built a greenhouse made from plastic water bottles recycled by students.
BaxterStorey was instrumental in the collection of these used plastic water bottles. Catering staff continually reminded staff and student who purchase bottled water to dispose of their used bottles in the designated bins provided by BaxterStorey. Built on the rooftop garden, it houses herbs and vegetables used by BaxterStorey chefs for student lunches.
With students becoming increasingly aware of the impact left on the planet with many more moving towards sustainable diets, judges were impressed with BaxterStorey’s Grounds to Ground initiative, which encouraged customers to feed their garden with recycled coffee grounds, which acts as fertiliser. Asking for a small donation per bag, BaxterStorey have raised over £200 for the Glasgow Homeless Centre.
Since 2014, BaxterStorey has been segregating, weighing and reporting all food waste produced by the business. This is now practiced at over 900 sites and has resulted in a 42% reduction in food waste across the business.
Jeremy Wood, Regional Managing Director at BaxterStorey, said, “We are incredibly proud of the team at City of Glasgow College, this achievement is testament to the innovative work they have been doing to establish sound sustainable practices since we launched our wider company agenda in 2006.
“We are continuously developing new ways of reducing our environmental impacts, from using fresh locally sourced seasonal ingredients to our Grounds to Ground initiative, we are proud to part of a wider industry movement working towards a more sustainable food future”.
Deborah Fagan, Lead Procurement Manager, commented, “BaxterStorey have continually thrived in achieving all Sustainability Outcomes within this contract and have excelled in the delivery of additional Sustainability Initiatives at the College involving both Staff and Students.
'The commitment, time and effort BaxterStorey provide when it comes to sustainability is continually recognised by the College and makes this partnership the success that it is today.