Hawksmoor goes carbon neutral a year ahead of schedule

Steak restaurant group Hawksmoor has achieved its goal of going carbon neutral by the end of 2022 a year ahead of schedule.

Working with Net Zero Now and the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the group has offset its carbon emissions and started implementing practices to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions and become a net zero company by 2030.

Co-founder Will Beckett said: "Hawksmoor customers want to enjoy the meat they're eating. Many of us are thinking more about where our food comes from and are shifting to eating a little less, better quality meat. For us, being carbon neutral is part of the way we're making sure that the beef we serve is part of a food and farming system that supports our natural environment.

"We're not just offsetting our emissions, we've also set out big plans to make positive changes across the board.

"All our beef comes from cattle that have led a stress-free life and are fed on a natural foraged diet of grass and hay, and whether you visit us in the UK or New York, you know that your beef comes from farmers in those countries treating cattle and land the right way, which we think makes our meat all the tastier."

Hawksmoor has offset all scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions with carbon credits funding projects certified by Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS).

The group's plan to get to Net Zero by 2030 saw its UK estate switch to renewable electricity last year and ensure food waste is both reduced and turned into bio gas.

Meanwhile, LED lighting is being installed across all restaurants over the next two years, 150 Hawksmoor managers have been given sustainability and carbon literacy training and all beef farms that supply Hawksmoor in the UK are undergoing carbon foot-printing within the next two years.

Juliane Caillouette-Noble, managing director of The SRA, said: "From eggs to electricity, beef to business travel and whisky to waste, every relevant GHG emissions source at Hawksmoor during 2020 was counted and analysed.

"The outcome of this work has been a complete value chain carbon footprint for each of Hawksmoor's restaurants. These carbon footprints not only cast a light on where the biggest emissions occur and where the opportunities are to take effective action, but also provide the baseline for Hawksmoor to set ambitious carbon reduction targets."

Simon Heppner, founder of Net Zero Now, added: "The hospitality sector has had an enormously challenging couple of years but the response to the Net Zero Restaurant initiative has been astonishing. It's so important that influential businesses like Hawksmoor push the boundaries and show leadership on this crucial issue. The response of all businesses over the next five years will determine whether we can restrict warming to under 2°C and that starts with measuring impact and setting reduction targets."