Regent Street & St James’s are launching a pioneering food waste pledge in, with 11 restaurants collectively committing to reducing food waste by 25% by May 2020. Regent Street and St James’s will become the first destinations in the UK to introduce a pledge of this kind. The pledge has been created by The Crown Estate, owners of the destinations, and is inspired by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 12, focussing on responsible consumption and production, which aims to reduce food waste by 50% per capita by 2030.
The Crown Estate has brought together leading dining and drinking destinations who share the aim of reducing their environmental impact and want to provide greater choice for the conscious consumer. The Food Waste Pledge also exceeds the UK’s Courtauld Commitment 2025 target of reducing UK food and drink waste by 20% and will be completed five years earlier.
Currently, the UK food service industry wastes enough food to fill The Shard nearly 11 times every year and an average of one in six meals is wasted, resulting in a loss of £2.5billion each year. The restaurants taking part in The Food Waste Pledge are therefore not only committing to reducing their environmental impact, but also to becoming more efficient and streamlining operations.
The Food Waste Pledge will launch in May 2019 in partnership with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) who are providing guidance to restaurateurs on best practices to reduce waste outputs and, most importantly, helping to track the change in waste to achieve the 25% reduction.
Regent Street and St James’s are proud to be home to some of the capital’s most innovative and distinctive eateries who are spearheading this pledge. Thanks to The Crown Estate’s commitment to sustainability, restaurants from north of Oxford Circus down to Pall Mall will be offering visitors more choice to dine consciously – whether Michelin-starred dining in St James’s Market or grabbing a quick bite in a tucked-away café on Heddon Street. Committed to the pledge are a number of leading London restaurants, including:
Brasserie Zedel; Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano; Frescobaldi; Hawksmoor Air Street; Hotel Café Royal’s Laurent; ikoyi; Ralph’s Coffee and Bar; Scully; Sketch; Stem and tibits.
Jane Wakiwaka, Sustainability Manager at The Crown Estate says: ‘At The Crown Estate we take a long-term view in everything that we do. We champion sustainable practices across our business and in partnership with our restauranteurs and retailers, The Regent Street & St James’s Food Waste Pledge is the next exciting step. We’re proud to spearhead an initiative that will unite many of the fantastic restaurants on our portfolio and reduce food waste for a more sustainable future.’
With 2019 marking Regent Street’s 200th Anniversary, The Crown Estate is taking the opportunity to not only look back at the heritage of the area as London’s first shopping street, but to also continue to positively shape the future. This pledge is a commitment to encourage a significant shift within the food industry that will create a positive change for both people and planet.
