At Bidfood, we understand that our business has many impacts on the environment, but we’ve committed to becoming a Positive force for change, so Earth Day is an ideal opportunity to review our progress toward a more sustainable way of doing business.

Earth Day is celebrated annually on 22nd April, and is a global event that promotes environmental awareness and encourages actions to protect our planet. As Sustainability Manager at Bidfood, I am glad to share what Earth Day means to us and how it aligns with our commitment in this area.

In our 2023 Sustainability Report, we’re proud to highlight the progress we’ve made in our journey.

One of the key pillars of our sustainability strategy is reducing our carbon footprint. We have implemented robust measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our operations, including investing in solar panel installation, optimising our delivery routes to minimise transportation emissions, and setting up an Alternative Fuels working group, to monitor the latest developments in both EVs and hydrogen.

We’ve also started a project that we’re hoping will catalyse scope 3 emissions reduction both upstream and downstream in our value chain. We’ve partnered with CarbonCloud to create AI-driven carbon footprint information across our entire product offering later in 2024. With this crucial information,  we’ll be able to exchange emissions data securely and seamlessly with suppliers to evaluate the climate impact of our various products, and ultimately, our aim is to track a reduction in their footprint over time as suppliers work on reducing the emissions associated with food production. This information will also enable our customers to calculate and show diners the climate impact of different menu options if they want to.

We’ve also set carbon reduction targets aligned with max 1.5°C global warming for scopes 1 and 2, and well below 2°C​​​​​​​ for Scope 3. Our ambition is to have reduced absolute carbon emissions by at least 90% by 2045, with the residual offset, which is a science-based approach toward achieving net zero. Here’s the link to our Carbon Reduction plan.

Recent highlights of our sustainability programme include:

• Shortlisted for two Cold Chain Sustainability Awards – Sustainability Champions and Technological Breakthrough
• Continued installation of solar panels across our depot estate (5 depots now complete)
• Continued work on supplier alignment with our new soya policy, to prevent deforestation
• Continued increased usage of 4 door cages and retrofittable doors for 2 door cages. Our intention is that over the course of the next couple of years the 2 sided cages will be phased out of the business and all caged deliveries will then require zero pallet wrap, a great step forward in reducing our plastics impact.

Our ‘People and Planet’ teams at our depots are also active in our sustainability efforts. We recognize the critical role that nature plays in supporting our food system, and we are committed to helping to preserve it.

Our teams have spearheaded projects to create wildlife habitats, maintain beehives and plant community gardens. We were really proud to launch our employee charity volunteering policy this year, which gives every employee the right to apply for a paid volunteering day with a charity of their choice. Many employees have chosen to volunteer with environmental charities, which benefits not only the work they do, but also brings employees into closer contact with nature, an activity which is proven to help emotional and mental wellbeing.    

Community engagement and social responsibility are integral components of our sustainability approach. We believe that sustainability encompasses not only environmental stewardship but also social well-being.

We actively engage in charitable initiatives, volunteer programmes, and partnerships with local organisations to address social issues, promote inclusivity, and contribute positively to the communities in which we operate. We are proud of our efforts to make a meaningful and positive impact on society. To find out more, please see the Communities section of our sustainability report or sustainability webpage.

As we celebrate Earth Day, we are reminded of the progress we have made in our sustainability journey, but we also acknowledge that there is more work to be done. We are committed to continuously improving our performance and finding innovative solutions to minimize our impacts. We strive to set an example for responsible and sustainable foodservice practices.

Happy Earth Day from Bidfood!

Read more about sustainability vision here: Positive force for change | sustainability | Bidfood UK

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