Caterforce Hits CSR Targets

Caterforce has made great progress towards the CSR targets they announced in 2019 when the buying group’s ambition was to work towards a more environmentally friendly and socially responsible future for their members, suppliers, and customers.

Gary Mullineux, Managing Director of Caterforce, said: “In 2019, we chose to prioritise health, welfare and sustainability across the whole group. We overhauled our Chefs Selections products and insisted upon full supply chain traceability. It is fantastic that in 2021 I can confidently say that all our white fish is MSC-certificated. Our tuna is sustainably sourced. We only use sustainable palm oil and none of our products contain any GM ingredients or hydrogenated fats. In addition to this, we have removed 99% of black plastic from our packaging and by 2025 all our packaging will be either recyclable or reusable.”

Several Caterforce members have also been actively making improvements over the last few years.

Hunt’s Foodservice have started working with carbon management consultants on a long-term plan to reduce their carbon footprint and offset as much as possible with tree planting and other environmentally friendly initiatives such as electric cars for sales reps. They are also installing solar panels in their head office depot in Sherborne. This project should be complete by Spring 2022.

Philip Dennis has had a long-standing commitment to become a green energy saving business. Ten years ago, they invested in two 80-metre high 500kw wind turbines which now produce over 60% of the electricity supply for their South West depot. Their three depots recycle over 150 tonnes of waste material every year and they also focus on sourcing products from local suppliers to reduce food miles and support local agriculture.

Castell Howell’s Group CSR & Training Manager, Edward Morgan said “We have installed solar panels and LED lights and are introducing hybrid vehicles into our fleet. Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions resulted in a 42% decrease per delivered unit last quarter. We also focus heavily on recycling on site and all EPS waste is converted into briquettes and sold as recycled material to the construction industry. In addition to these energy saving initiatives, we are currently in talks with the National Botanic Garden of Wales to collaborate on a horticulture/biodiversity project, to help promote their work with pollinators and the National plant DNA database. Our intention is to be able to provide a selection of Welsh grown organic veg to some of our public sector customers next year.”