Advertorial – this article contains paid-for content supplied by Heineken.
Following COP26, we need to consider sustainability practices within the UK on-trade. We reflect on why there is a need for change and speak to leading operators to understand what can be done to both protect the planet and keep customers happy.
With 79% of consumers changing their purchase preference based on sustainability, UK hospitality needs to consider how they can adopt more environmentally-friendly practices across their operations. Sustainable solutions are often perceived to be more expensive or less convenient, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Here, we hear from four operators on how they’re making their businesses more sustainable.
Steven Kirby, area operations manager, ETM Group
“Here at the ETM Group we’re very conscious of our footprint on the planet and have an internal committee that reviews every area of our operations. The pandemic enforced lockdown gave us more time to really challenge ourselves as a business, to review what we can do to operate more sustainably.
Heineken SmartDispense has also fundamentally changed the way we do business. The efficiency of the system and service saves us both time and stress. In particular, the time drain of line cleaning and wasted chemicals has all been removed. Reducing the line clean to once a month, managed by a qualified service technician has given our staff more time to focus on other areas of the business such as marketing and improving customer service, while simultaneously reducing wastewater and excess cleaning products.”
Marten Lewis FRSA, head of corporate responsibility at Bluestone National Park Resorts
“We recently conducted a piece of customer research, that asked how much importance individuals placed on environmental factors when booking a stay. The results demonstrated over 60% expressed this was important to them when booking a trip.”
“Sustainability has always been a focus across every part of our business and my role was created to oversee the implication of various initiatives across our resort. A few examples of the processes we have introduced include, itemising menu items individually, so guests only receive what they’ve specifically ordered and don’t end up leaving ingredients. We also weigh every piece of food waste daily and log this information to keep track of wastage. Both simple processes not only reduce our waste but also reduces costs, knowing we’re offering accurate portion sizes and exact ingredients ordered by the customer. The latest initiative we have introduced across our resorts is refillable water bottles and water fountain stations, fully removing the need for PET single use plastic water bottles.
“Another part of my role is to regularly provide training for staff to refresh on the recycling processes. Through our monthly SmartDispense service visit, it’s one less thing to worry about as we have the peace of mind that we’re serving great quality beer through clean lines, thanks to the monthly technician line clean. Since installing SmartDispense two years ago we now save on average 45 pints and three hours of time per bar, per week, so we’re reducing waste and maximising efficiency”.
Sall Colak, general manager of The Gun Pub, London
“Sustainability is very important for our customers, by having a pint that uses our SmartDispense system they’re doing their bit for the environment. Our SmartDispense system from Heineken provides us with good quality beer and cider every time. The benefits of being a SmartDispense pub is we use less water and CO2 so our customers can enjoy their pint knowing they’re doing so more sustainably. We’re so glad Heineken is talking about SmartDispense, not only can our customers taste that they’re having a great pint, but they’re also helping the environment.”
Barrie Newton, owner of Tavern in The Town, Rugeley
“Heineken SmartDispense has noticeably increased the efficiency of our business, with line cleaning reduced to every 10-12 weeks we’re saving man-power and we even have more time to focus on other areas of our business.
The quality of our beer has also never been better than with Heineken’s SmartDispense system. Our customers are enjoying a better tasting beer that’s also better for the environment. No ifs or buts, Heineken SmartDispense means every pint is the perfect pint.”
A pub powered by Heineken’s SmartDispenseTM technology saves 83% of water compared to a pub using a standard dispense system, all while ensuring their customer gets a perfectly poured pint served at sub -5°C every single time. SmartDispense pubs have collectively saved an incredible 107m pints of water and 394 tonnes of CO2 in the past seven years. That’s the equivalent of almost 340,000 bathtubs full of water, just by enjoying a sustainable pint from a SmartDispense pub.
Discover how other operators are doing their bit for the planet and how you can become a more sustainable pub whilst serving great quality pints:
https://smartdispense.heineken.co.uk/green-pint
