Some businesses are trying to save the world more than others.
All credit to them. It’s much easier to focus on profits today rather than worry about the future. Neither is it so simple if you give your customers no say in the matter, that they must join you in your quest. That’s an especially brave call - requiring them to have an eco-friendly version, come what may.
It’s even tougher if you’re a restaurant chain and your trade is food. One group that is determined to set new standards, seemingly, is Azzurri, owners of the Zizzi, ASK Italian and Coco di Mama brands.
Their annual Sustainability Dining Report lands in my email. It’s not the sort of document that would normally detain me, causing a tired, ‘yeah, yeah…’ response. But this one is so voluminous, over 50 pages and is so detailed, energetic and driven that it merits a second look.
In his ‘CEO’s Welcome’, Steve Holmes talks about the company’s framework built on ‘People, Planet and Plate’. He’s got a combined goal, ‘to continue to build better food businesses that deliver a positive impact for our people and planet.’
Yes, but what does that mean in practice? Well, among the group’s various ESG initiatives, two catch the eye. One is that in the 135-plus branches of Zizzi, they serve pizza bases made from their own waste pizzas.
They’ve partnered with Bio Collectors and ADM Milling flour manufacturers. It works like this: vans from Bio Collectors pick up food waste from Zizzi, ASK Italian and other London businesses and households. The waste is treated and converted into biogas and digestate, a nutrient-rich fertiliser.
The biogas powers Bio Collectors’ vehicles and the fertiliser is spread on farmers’ wheat fields. The wheat is harvested and used to make the flour that goes into the dough in the Zizzi pizza bases.
In the jargon it’s known as ‘a collaborative closed-looped system’ and is the first known circular food waste initiative of its kind within the UK hospitality sector.
At ASK Italian, their 66 outlets are using only flour from ‘Wildfarmed’, the regenerative food brand.
According to the United Nations, the world’s food systems require rapid sustainable transformation. The facts are stark: agriculture occupies almost one-third of global land use and food production accounts for approximately 15 per cent of carbon emissions.
It’s also responsible for an estimated 80 per cent of tropical deforestation, accounts for 70 per cent of freshwater withdrawals and is a major contributor to biodiversity loss. According to Regeneration International, there may not be enough soil left to grow food for the world within 50 years.
Key to that vital sustainable change is regenerative agriculture. It’s one of the most established solutions currently available to decarbonise and actively regenerate the food ecosystem, according to the World Economic Forum.
In practice, this means using fewer pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, integrating livestock within farming practices for natural fertilisation purposes, reducing till farming and introducing soil cover methods. This improves soil quality and builds crop resilience whilst storing carbon in the ground.
Where regenerative methods have been used in India, crop yields have increased by 3 per cent while greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 20 per cent. In Thailand, crop yields have increased 18 per cent, with a 36 per cent drop in water use.
In the UK, Wildfarmed is doing its bit. Its regenerative flour is pesticide free, improves biodiversity and cuts carbon emissions by half.
This is the first time a UK restaurant chain has fully adopted flour made from 100% regeneratively sourced wheat into its operations. Customers don’t get to choose. Indeed, ASK Italian is making these bold, sustainable choices so that its consumers don’t have to.
At the ASK Italian in Mayfair, on a weekday lunchtime they’re doing brisk business. The pizzas are in strong demand.
They’re advertising ‘our dough is now made with 100% planet-friendly flour.’ They taste fresh, light and I might be imagining this, but as no chemical pesticides go into the dough somehow cleaner.
‘Brand new pizzas that taste good and do good.’ It’s quite a statement but it’s not misplaced. They deserve to succeed. Others please note.
