Hospitality businesses offered free Energy Saving Audits and help with sustainability costs

BRITAIN’S beer and cider market is resilient – as Heineken UK’s Interim on-trade director Will Rice notes: “It has been here for hundreds of years, and it will be here for hundreds more.”

But that does not mean that pubs and bars can be left to fend for themselves, whatever the world throws at them. 

That is why Heineken UK has been making a determined effort to help its on-trade customers weather the current cost-of-living turmoil, whilst also lending a hand in their preparations for the increasingly stringent sustainability regime that is not nearly as far away as many businesses might like to imagine.

This week, the brewing giant has put its money where its mouth is with the launch of a £3 million sustainability fund which each of its customer venues can access to cover the cost of a professional Energy Saving Audit, then claim up to £5k worth of funding towards undertaking the work recommended by those audits.

While consumers’ support for businesses adopting green policies is already well documented, pubs and bars have a more pressing reason to take up Heineken’s offer of sustainability funding – the new UK legislation requiring commercial premises, including hospitality venues, to reach an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C from April 2027, and then upgrade that to B rating from April 2030.  

Massive fines will be levied against ‘non-compliant outlets’ with a legislated maximum of £150,000, so it makes very good sense for operators to get their venue on the road to a better EPC rating early, starting with one of those Heineken-funded audits.

Speaking to SLTN, Mr Rice was bullish about the on-trade’s prospects, and emphatic about Heineken’s commitment to continue as a ‘big player’ in that future.

Will has been with the company for a decade, but moved across from the off-trade side in 2020, and earlier this year was made interim on-trade director. Top of his wishlist within that role is simply ‘a thriving and sustainable on-trade’ offering customers experiences that they cannot have at home.

“Customers are going out less, but looking for a more premium experience when they do,” he observed. “The pub is seen as an affordable treat, and the key to its attraction is often draught beer and cider.

“There has been a focus on the premium end of things, which for us has brought great success for Moretti and Beavertown, but what consumers are at now is more mainstream brands with premium credentials, which is where we are coming in with Cruzcampo and Inch’s cider.”

Cruzcampo’s roll out got off to a good start – 10 weeks since launch, there are 3000 taps for the 4.4% ‘sessionable’ Mediterranean style beer installed or agreed, and a welcome level of public enthusiasm for its premium character at ‘an affordable price point’.

Overall, Heineken also reported that the first quarter of the year had exceeded expectations, and presented a much more upbeat outlook than the results of the same period in 2022.

While this year’s improving figures were testament to the resilient trade that Will had praised from the outset, he stressed that it was not a moment to sit back, and called on operators to further secure their future using the free ‘Business Builder’ tools that Heineken had made available to its customers, informed in no small part by the market information it was gleaning from its Star Pubs and Bars division.

The Energy Saving Audit is just one of the discounts available through that Business Builder package, promising to identify the lowest cost options that will have the biggest impact on sustainability, whilst minimising disruption to a venue’s day-to-day operations. 

“At a time when publicans are under pressure to reduce both their running costs and carbon footprint, these simple, no or low-cost changes can make a big difference, with many reinvesting savings into bigger initiatives,” said Will.

Heineken’s own SmartDispense systems were, he added ‘industry leading’ in their ability to save both energy and water, with the new remote cooler management system recording whopping energy savings of 36% with no loss of quality.

But other discounts can be realised through the combined buying power of both Heineken and Star Pubs & Bars, including on waste management, garden furniture, food, and non-consumables, all ‘neatly packaged’ up within Business Builder, helping operators save money and time. 

Heineken and SmartDispense customers can also access a suite of added-value services to help grow revenue and footfall, such as free social media training, a free drinks menu design and printing service, and free staff training. 

“It has been a challenging time, and there are headwinds affecting the whole sector, but the thing for us now is that we continue to work with our customers and invest in our brands,” said Will. “We are in this for the long term.”