What Is beverage sustainability?

Welcome back to part seven of our Impact blog series at M. If you haven’t already, check out our other editions where we explored topics such as restaurant social responsibility.

If you’re from the UK, you’ll not need to be told that we’ve seen some of the highest recorded temperatures this past month. And no, before you make any presumptions, we aren’t here to lecture on the relevance to climate change or global warming. Rather, we are just looking to highlight beverage sustainability, wine sustainability and eco friendly wines. So open up a bottle, sit back and enjoy as we discuss sustainability in the beverage industry.

How do you make sustainable wines and beverages?

Whether it’s looking at supply chain, manufacturing, ingredients, packaging, logistics or disposal, there are a myriad of ways to drink sustainably. For M Restaurants, we started our ‘sustainable serves’ initiative. This is where we have dived deep into our suppliers and wineries, all to enhance our understanding of their eco-conscious processes. By vetting our suppliers, this means we can be more stringent in the selection process, only choosing partners who have credible and sustainable practices. In Glass Half Full, we have great pride in announcing that we stock truly sustainable beverages.

As a way to showcase our biodynamic, organic and natural partners, we’ve pinpointed them on each of our menus. Moving forward, we aim to enhance such initiatives, particularly when it comes to things like sustainable ingredients in cocktails. We also try to avoid importing items.

How do you drink sustainably?

We all want to make good choices when it comes to eco-friendly beverages, but it can be very difficult. With an eco-conscious mindset ever more present in the global sphere, businesses can no longer be caught slacking when it comes to their beverage sustainability initiatives. Customer demand will not allow it. To support businesses that do want to make a change, look out for their actions. Even simple things like providing sustainable cups and glasses go a long way to showcasing intent.

Are there such things as zero-waste cocktails?

Designing an environmentally friendly cocktail around zero-waste principles means ensuring there is as little waste as possible. In other words, that nothing ends up in the bin that doesn’t need to. Garnishes are a large part of the allure of cocktails. But they aren’t always edible, and are often made out of plastic – all to provide a bit of jazz to the experience. But they aren’t necessary and they aren’t sustainable, since they often just get thrown in the bin. To be more eco-friendly, try to only use garnishes that are edible. Think juicy yellow lemons, citrusy limes, and decadent chocolate. Even bits of marshmallow or sweets can do a job too. In short, there are plenty of ways to dress up cocktails in a way that doesn’t create unnecessary waste.

What does being ‘certified sustainable’ mean?

‘Organic’ and ‘Biodynamic’ are certified credentials that wine and drinks suppliers can achieve to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. What do they represent? Well, these credentials indicate that the companies put environmental principles at the forefront of their farming practices. Here are the requirements they need to meet in order to be eligible for ‘Organic’:

Promotion of good healthy soils through land management, encouraging biodiversity

Protecting soils from erosion, planting additional crops and hedgerows that prevent it from drying out in the sun

Biodynamic is a next level accreditation. Why? It means that the supplier goes the extra mile when it comes to organic requirements. It’s actually has a definition: ‘a spiritual-ethical-ecological’ approach to agriculture, gardens, food production, and nutrition. For a vineyard to have this accreditation, they need to be seen as a part of nature and not a piece of land with the function to mass produce grapes. They are a seamless part of the environment, causing no harm, and even enhance the greenery. In short, the biodynamic certification shows that businesses prioritise sustainability above their commercial goals. That’s pretty cool, don’t you think?

How do you spot wine sustainability?

When it comes to wine sustainability, this refers to bottles that are created in eco-friendly vineyards. What makes such a vineyard? The main considerations are water conservation, energy conservation, and ecosystem preservation to local wildlife. To discover sustainable wine companies, all you need to do is look at the label and check for organic or biodynamic logos. If the place has been authenticated, you’ll see them there. Producers that prioritise wine sustainability are keen for you to know about their conscious practises, and often direct their audience towards their accreditations. So if you want a glass of sustainable red wine with your consciously-sourced steak, check the label.

What type of packaging allows you to drink sustainably?

Although it’s a functional necessity, sustainable packaging is a challenge. This is because transporting drinks with a variety of packaging has an affect on the drinks inside and their quality. Glass is an interesting one when it comes to sustainable packaging. Although glass can be easily recycled, the sheer weight of transporting the glass creates higher transport emissions and costs. This is a serious thing to consider, as the heavier the item, the more fuel it requires to move. For sustainable wines, glass is a must-use in order to maintain the quality of the drink.
Aluminium cans are also easy to recycle. They are also lightweight, sturdy and commonly used. However, some organisations don’t like to use this metal as some consumers see it as lower quality.
Finally, plastic bottles are the easiest to recycle. But the problem is, not all of them are. This is because there is complexity in making them out of different types of plastic. The other problem is that plastic is not biodegradable, and causes many problems in terms of ocean waste.

Why is sustainability in the food and beverage industry so vital?

To prioritise sustainable beverages and food, it is all about being resourceful in the source and supplier part of the princess. With an increasing population, decrease in land space and degradation in soil quality, it’s paramount that all industries consider introducing more eco-friendly sustainable practices. None more so than the food and beverage industry.

Climate change has a direct impact on agriculture. With the frequency of natural disasters like floods, droughts and extreme temperatures, food production has suffered. And due to more global demand, these issues are made worse by inconsiderate land management. Nutrients in our soil are lessening, which means the fertile status of land is decreasing with such pace that much of it cannot be used for farming ever again.

What’s the solution then? Enhance sustainability in the food and beverage industry by reevaluating our agriculture and land management practices. The first step to better practices alongside technological developments and regenerative farming is to heighten the esteem of organic certifications. While we have pride in our impact and sustainability efforts so far, we know that there’s still much work to be done. Going forward, we are looking to create a new project with our wine suppliers that will evaluate their eco-friendly practices. This will be done for every winner. Ultimately, we hope this will increase the number of sustainable beverages we can offer our customers.

Restaurant Social Responsibility

Welcome back to the Impact blog, where today we reach number six in our series. We’re so happy to have reached half a dozen and provide more content to our loyal readers. We love to know that we have helped build an avid community of conscious consumers, all sharing our passion for positive action.

From January we have explored a range of topics. These include our involvement with the SRA, low carbon beef farming, sustainable sourcing and sustainability events happening in London. This we are delving deeper into the crucial role charity partnerships have in our Impact remit. For instance, one of our partners, ‘Not For Sale’, works worldwide with communities most at-risk of exploitation. They are a contemporary anti-slavery charity who fight the causes of exploitation at source.

At M, we know the vital need to support and promote charitable organisations. While working alongside six partners, we have grasped the opportunities they have provided. This includes gaining access to an abundant network of contacts, bringing employment to news groups and fulfilling diversification and inclusivity goals within our workforce.

Who are Not For Sale (NFS)?

45.8 million people live in slavery worldwide. NFS’s goal is to end the dire lack of economic opportunity, as well as remove the environmental degradation that causes exploitation. It believes that it’s possible to create a world where people and our planet exist together in harmony — a world where no person is for sale.

To do this, Not For Sale aims to understand the root causes of slavery by liaising with local experts. NFS partners with local entrepreneurs to organise projects that give education, empowerment and income for the most vulnerable and at risk, all in their effort to discover where the vicious cycle can be disrupted.

Both Gaucho and M restaurants have a committed partnership with Not For Sale, and have pledged to raise and donate £1 million over the next decade. In a variety of campaigns, including the annual ‘M Is Not For Sale’ fundraiser and a pop-up experience at M Victoria, we have helped support and provide for the NFS mission. We are extremely proud to be enhancing our support further with significant investment into NFS initiatives aiming to offset carbon emissions.

Offsetting Carbon with Not For Sale (NFS)

Through this charity partnership, we are focusing on a long-term strategy to reduce the emissions at source on our farms in Argentina and throughout our supply chain, as well as working to tackle our historic emissions, such as reforestation or afforestation initiatives, we are also directing our investments in community projects that have a carbon offsetting potential. For example, we planted 4,056 trees in South America In January 2021, which offsetted a massive 1,464 tonnes of CO2eq. This kind of project is how we aim to and we have offset the last six months of our beef carbon emissions.

We are now also facilitating work in nine countries where we source beef for our Gaucho and M restaurants. In this project, over 17,500 trees will be planted. This will offset nearly 4 million tonnes of CO2eq. Incredible.

Projects in Peru

Planted tree species Aniba canelilla 340 trees planted Each tree offsets around 14kg of carbon per year What will they be used for? craftwork, construction timber, carpentry, essential oils, medicine

Planted tree species Bertholletia excelsa 387 trees planted Each tree offsets around 20kg of carbon per year What will they be used for? beekeeping, construction timber, cosmetics, aids land reclamation and soil restoration

Planted tree species Hura crepitans 193 trees planted Each tree offsets around 8kg of carbon per year What will they be used for? Resin, medicine, aids land reclamation and soil restoration

Planted tree species Theobroma cacoa 1,284 trees planted Each tree offsets around 8kg of carbon per year What will they be used for? chocolate Projects in Brazil

Planted tree species Carapa guianensis 279 trees planted Each tree offsets around 40kg of carbon per year What will they be used for? Cosmetics and traditional medicines

Planted tree species Enterolobirum contortisiliquum 1,573 trees planted Each tree offsets around 24kg of carbon per year What will they be used for? wood for construction, medicine, ornamental

Restaurant social responsibility is a crucial focus for both Gaucho and M Restaurants. When it comes to sustainability and core values, our charity partnerships play a crucial role. We’re ecstatic to be partnered with so many incredible charities, each one with their own mission to inspire and action positive impacts on our planet. In particular, we would like to give a heart-felt and genuine thank you to Not For Sale. We are so extremely proud of the work we have done together, and we’re excited to see what’s next.

Our journey towards becoming a zero carbon business

Welcome back to the fifth edition of the Impact blog series. If you haven’t yet seen our last blog on sustainable farming, please check it out. If you have been keeping up with our posts, you’ll know that we’ve been documenting our mission to become a carbon-neutral business. Previously we’ve explored sustainable food sourcing, sustainable agricultural practices, charity partners, new internal initiatives, and our accolades and awards. This time we’re looking at all the sustainability and climate change events taking place in the capital this year.

25th June – 3rd July: London Climate Action Week (LCAW)

London Climate Action Week (or LCAW) is a yearly event that gathers together London’s most prominent climate professionals and communities. It allows these experts to showcase their thoughts on climate change to a worldwide audience. Not only does LCAW encourage conversations across multiple sectors, it facilitates businesses to work together and explore new solutions to tackle these issues.

The Sustainable Supper Club was hosted by us to coincide with the event. Among the attendees were, CRATE TO PLATE one of our eco-friendly suppliers who grow salad leaves, micro herbs, and vegetables in hydroponic and aeroponic farms around the disused spaces around London. Using some incredible technology and expertise, their produce is grown without the use of soil in an entirely pesticide-free environment. They also use 95% less water than on conventional farms. Our guests were given the opportunity to chat with Crate to Plate representatives, and even try their products during the dinner.

2nd July – 8th July: Net Zero Week UK

The United Kingdom became the first major economy to pass into law a commitment to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Net Zero Week (NZW) is an annual awareness week with the mission of helping businesses achieve their unique commitments towards this goal. It allows us to explore the challenges on a more granular level.

Again, with experts in attendance, those who come are encouraged to ask questions to get the most out of the experience. This is all to help us take part and do our bit, framing the mission as a collaborative effort rather than an individual business one. During the week M restaurants take the opportunity to attend webinars and events, embedding these new learnings into our own net-zero strategy. We also look to share this with our value chain so they too can adapt and improve their own strategy.

25th November: Sustainable Events Show

Hosted by Wesley Mendy and Dan Bearpark, this is a one day event that helps to curate relationships with like-minded parties who share the same worldviews and goals when it comes to sustainable practice. It is a platform for everyone to discuss and brainstorm new ideas.

With 80 environmentally friendly venues, event service suppliers and event technology companies, the goal is for each participant to share their thoughts, knowledge and expertise. By learning how each of us are tackling our own problems, the idea is that others may learn how to improve their own processes by learning about the experience of others. In 2022, the event is to be held in The Barbican centre in the heart of London. With it;s beautiful conservatory, the green exhibition space with 1,500 species of plants and trees is an ideal setting for the event.

7th September – 8th September: Sustainability LIVE, London

Sustainability LIVE merges senior industry leaders and expert analysts for keynote addresses, discussions, and general networking. Streamed online or attended in person, the two-day exhibition is to be held in the Business Design Centre in Islington. With over 100 speakers and 20 interactive panels, this is the ideal platform for experienced and conscious leaders to have discourse on how they are taking action on climate change issues.

At M, events like these have always been a top priority. Over the next year we are keen to create new ideas or our environmentally conscious guests. Stay tuned to see them in future posts.

There are a few tanned faces walking around Rare Restaurants HQ this week, which can only mean one thing… The annual Argentina trip has been and gone, bringing with it a wave of new energy and excitement, having explored the farms that supply our restaurants with the best quality steak. In this post we explore the potential for sustainable farming through regenerative and holistic land management.

What is sustainable farming? Sustainable agriculture means operating with the environmental, social, and economic impacts taken into consideration, meeting food needs without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. The purpose of the Argentina trip is to connect with our farmers and understand how they are operating within this capacity. The team visited two farms that supply us with our much-loved Aberdeen Angus Argentinian steak: Santa Maria del Recuerdo in Saladillo and Santa Elena in Rojas, both situated in the famous La Pampas region.

Santa Maria del Recuerdo

Santa Maria is a family-owned, natural grasslands farm. Francesco and his brothers became administrators in 2016 with the intention of disrupting the traditional farming methods to become economically efficient, socially responsible, and environmentally sustainable. To achieve this, they have adopted new processes, which consider genetics, nutrition and animal welfare.

They have taken the genetic information of their cattle and studied the soil profile of their 4,000-hectare farm to understand which parts of the farm are best suited for the various aspects of farming. The type of grass that cattle graze on during the fattening stage is important for the marbling and quality of the meat, however, seasonal variations affect the quality and type of grass that is available throughout the year. Rye grass is crucial for achieving good marbling but is of low quality during the winter months, and so it is complemented with corn that the farm grows itself. Argentinian law prevents the use of any imported feeds supplements; therefore, the farm must take this into account when managing the land

Santa Maria operates holistic land management practices, where cattle spend five days grazing in each area of the farm before being moved on to the next. After the grasslands have been grazed on, they need a minimum of 30 days to recover before livestock can be reintroduced, which gives the native grasses time to recover and regrow. Ranchers are also exploring the options for planting more grasses and legumes, to improve the soil and sequester more carbon. Alfalfa, soy and corn are particularly good for this, while introducing cover crops, such as clover, can also aid the digestion of the cattle, which plays a role in reducing the methane emissions from cows themselves.

Santa Elena – Rojas

Unlike at Santa Maria, Juan and his team at Santa Elena use the land predominantly for agriculture rather than livestock grazing simply because the quality of the soil is so good, particularly compared to areas around it, and so is mainly used to grow crops for supplementing feed on cattle farms. They also operate a rotation system across the farm by separating out areas based on the quality of the soil. This also enables those areas of the farm that have a lower soil quality to be improved through the planting of species, such as alfalfa, which “fixes” nitrogen into the soil to boost the fertility of the soil, reducing the need to use synthetic or chemical fertilisers.

Despite this farm being over 6,000 hectares in size, very few cattle are reared on site. They are kept on the lowland areas where the soil is of lower quality and not good enough to grow crops. For those they do rear, keeping stress levels to a minimum is extremely important towards the end of their life. Cattle are transferred to a special area of the farm where they are given the freedom to make their own decisions about what needs they want to fulfil such as eating, drinking, sheltering, or ruminating. Alongside being a key indicator of ethical rearing practices, high animal welfare standards can also help to mitigate environmental pressures along the supply chain. Once at the slaughterhouse, any meat that shows signs of bruising is discarded as low quality and is a core contributor to food waste.

At Rare Restaurants we know that sustainable livestock farming can be a part of the climate change solution and so place it at the heart of our business. The annual Argentina trip helps to keep our sustainability efforts and the origins of our brands fresh in our teams’ mind, while bringing us closer to our farmers and understanding their practices. We take great care to ensure sustainable methods in all aspects of the supply chain, from farm to our restaurant tables.

Patrons of sustainability, welcome to volume three of the impact blog series! The mood in Rare Restaurants HQ has been particularly upbeat over the past couple of weeks, following news that we have been awarded a one star ‘Food Made Good rating’ from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). The SRA works with businesses across the foodservice industry, industry bodies, campaign groups and suppliers to accelerate change towards an environmentally and socially progressive sector. Their vision is to make eating out good for everyone by generating a restorative impact on the planet.

The Food Made Good rating recognises our initiatives and our accomplishments thus far. An assessment of our business was carried out across three pillars of sustainability including sourcing, society and environment. Our highest overall score was achieved in the environment category thanks to these remarkable initiatives:

Rolling out a zero-food-waste-to-landfill policy across the group
Working towards a 75% recycling rate across all restaurants
Setting a target to become a net zero carbon business by 2030

Read the full report here https://gauchorestaurants.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Final-2022-Rating-Report-for-Gaucho-Restaurants-min.pdf

As well as recognising the hard work happening behind the scenes, the report suggests key focus areas to further improve our positive impacts on the planet. Looking ahead we will introduce new measures to achieve our second star. We are committed to:

Sourcing fish responsibly – we will ensure that no fish rated 4 or 5 by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide will appear on our menus
Introducing waste management (non-food) targets – we have rolled out waste management training across all sites and monitor – progress towards a 75% recycling rate
Decarbonising the supply chain – we will work with suppliers to better understand how to reduce carbon emissions further down the supply chain

Receiving our first Food Made Good star from the SRA is a major milestone for the group and we are incredibly proud of this recognition, which has encouraged us to expand our efforts. Our mission to have a positive impact on planet has never felt more real and we will continue challenging ourselves and the sector to make changes. For more information and regular updates on our sustainability efforts head to our impact page.

M fans, ambassadors of sustainability and earth lovers – welcome to part 2 of the Impact Blog Series. If you read our first feature Impact Blog 1 last month, you’ll know we’re on a mission to become a net zero carbon business by 2030. This month we we’re taking a closer look at some of the sustainability initiatives we’ve carried out already, to get us started on this journey.

In 2021 we became a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), who have helped us conduct a sustainability assessment – a holistic review across all aspects of operations, from sourcing food to community initiatives and efficient energy use. The results from this will feed into our net zero strategy, alongside our progress with the Carbon Forum, who we joined forces with, in January 2022. The Forum was set up specifically for hospitality businesses, offering guidance on the net zero journey, using the community spirit of our great industry to learn, share and facilitate collaborative projects. The forum will help to influence restaurant supply chains encouraging them to start calculating their carbon footprints, reduce waste in the supply chain and invest in more efficient transport logistics.

The power and influence of the industry has also given us the opportunity to push for legislative changes, which go beyond the changes we’re making at Rare – something we’re very proud to be a part of. We joined the Better Business Act Coalition in 2021 to call for an amendment to The Companies Act, so that the interests of shareholders increasingly align with environmental and sustainability needs.

Finally, we are proud to be able to see more results of our investment in reforestation and offsetting projects both here in the UK and in South America. In addition to our work with Not For Sale (highlighted last month), our Gaucho Impact Ambassadors enjoyed a day of tree planting in the Hampshire countryside alongside our drinks partners Glass Half Full and Sapling Spirits. We planted 600 trees in total, which will offset around 900 tonnes of carbon over their lifetime. Having measured the carbon footprint of our Argentinian beef, these projects contribute towards the offsetting needs of our beef production and our carbon neutral beef offering.

It’s fair to say that a large part of the work we’re committed to is happening behind the scenes and so we decided to expand our focus into the restaurants, creating initiatives that involve staff and customers. It’s important for us to be able to provide a visible and tangible experience, to help us spread awareness to our customers and beyond. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to

• Engage staff and form a committee of Impact Ambassadors • Develop Impact Awareness training, covering carbon literacy • Roll out waste management, electricity, and water efficiency training • Work with our suppliers to decarbonise and remove packaging where possible throughout the supply chain • Host sustainable supper club events at Charlotte Street, the first of which will take place on April 20th

For a long time now, M Restaurants and indeed the entire Rare Restaurants group has been conscious of our social and environmental impact on the planet, people and community. In 2015 we partnered up with ‘Not For Sale’ a movement which seeks to fight modern-day slavery. Since then, our list of charity partners has grown exponentially and today we’re proud partners of five outstanding organisations including ‘Only A Pavement Away’, ‘The Right Course’, ‘School of Hard Knocks’ and ‘Hospitality Action’. Our drive to become a sustainable business has only increased over the years and is now an integral part of the company’s values and its future. In 2021 we hired our first Impact Manager Alyson Parkes, who studied Environmental Sustainability at university, later taking on a position with the Sustainable Restaurant Association and managing an environmental project for Linklaters, before returning to study at the university founded by the ‘Slow Food Movement’. Alyson is working closely with the ‘Carbon Group’, ‘Net Zero Now’, the ‘Zero Carbon Forum’ and Martin Williams our CEO, steering our environmental strategy to set out and achieve these long-term goals:

Become a net zero carbon emissions business by 2030

In the interim, address the environmental impact of our Black Angus cattle in Argentina by:

Reducing the carbon emissions from beef production in our partner farms and offsetting the remaining emissions by 2025

Offsetting the carbon emissions of one cut of beef in 2022, so that we can offer a carbon neutral steak option at each restaurant.

“The road to sustainable beef production is challenging and can only be successful through collaboration” – Alyson (2022).

We began by undertaking a project to better understand our carbon footprint of our beef, from birth and fattening at the farm level, to the emissions from transportation to restaurants. This tells us what offsetting is required to achieve carbon neutral status of our beef and ultimately identify opportunities to reduce emissions along the supply chain.

‘Not For Sale’ is a charity that works with local communities in South America to understand the root causes of modern slavery. They investigate local economies to discover where they might break the cycle of slavery by creating projects that provide education, empowerment, and income. Since 2015 we have raised over £300,000 for the movement including a company investment in their environmental reforestation projects which saw us fund the planting of over 4,000 trees in 2021 and contributed to our offsetting goals.

We’re proud of the work we’re doing and we hope that in addition to the work of ourselves and our suppliers, that you, our guests, will help us become a net zero business by 2030.

It’s a long roadmap to realising our dream of becoming an entirely carbon neutral restaurant group and we’re excited to do this in the right way and to share our journey with you through the impact blog series. Each month we’ll be keeping guests up to date with our progress and learnings.