The Restaurant Group (TRG) has just won the Value Natural Resources award at the Food Made Good Awards, the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s annual industry accolades for the most progressive purveyors of food and drink.
Some of the UK’s best-known restaurant and cafe brands as well as independent operators, caterers and suppliers, were among the 20 winners rewarded for their positive response to the climate crisis, with a host of innovative and impactful ways of reducing their environmental impact and increasing their positive impact on society.
TRG has reduced electricity and gas by an impressive combined 4,800,000 kWh in 2018, and since 2010 saved the equivalent of 12,000 tonnes of carbon.
Determined to take its successful near decade long campaign to drive down energy use to another level, The Restaurant Group, devised a new user-friendly reporting system. This enabled operations managers easily to access and analyse live energy data. Armed with this information they were then able to find areas where savings could be made, appoint energy champions to support the campaign and install motion sensors and other energy saving technology.
Rob Beale, TRG's Purchasing Director, said, “It’s a real honour the receive this award. We take great pride in our policies in this area. This recognition provides our business with the motivation to continue to strive forward in this area.”
The Value Natural Resources award, sponsored by Good Energy, is designed to recognise businesses using smart solutions to better preserve energy and water, or demonstrating innovative ways of fitting out their sites to preserve resources.
The Food Made Good Awards are run by the Sustainable Restaurant Association to celebrate everything exciting about British hospitality businesses, chefs and suppliers doing the extraordinary to make food good – delicious, ethical, sustainable. Those businesses that have made it on to the shortlist have demonstrated impact, influence and integrity.
The judging panel for the awards consisted of a representative of each category sponsor, industry and issue specific experts as well as one of the SRA’s board of directors.