The UK hospitality sector and sustainability in 2024
The social sector
The UK hospitality industry contributes over £40 billion for the UK economy, however what is truly unique about the sector is that the business model is based on bringing people together.
It plays an essential role in connecting communities through pubs, leisure centres, sports clubs, coffee shops, bars and restaurants, in every part of the country. These institutions are part of the fabric of the UK’s social infrastructure and play a vital role in the well-being and mental health of communities and their residents.
The sector employs more than 1.8 million Britons, supporting both young and old sections of the workforce. Workers aged 16 to 24 years make up around half of employees in some hospitality roles, including waiters and waitresses (50%), bar staff (48%), and coffee shop workers (48%). At the same time, over a third of workers in the UK's hospitality sector are now over the age of 50. This is a sector that is supporting diversity and providing essential opportunities.
A sector with unique challenges
Biffa works with UK hospitality businesses of all sizes, and we have seen the exceptional challenges the industry faces. Changing culture and consumer behaviour, the impact of Brexit and the pandemic, plus a cost-of-living crisis accompanied by soaring operating costs and inflation have created a perfect storm of difficult trading conditions.
Another challenge the sector faces is the intricate nature of its waste management requirements. This is due to the diverse split of business types within the sector: from food and beverage, to accommodation, to travel and tourism, to entertainment and recreation. Within these business types there is a vast range of sizes and business models. One size does not fit all in hospitality. This makes sustainable waste management and circular interventions difficult to scale. Biffa hospitality accounts teams are structured in a way that addresses this challenge. We have accounts specialists in sub-sectors of hospitality including casual dining, leisure parks, and accommodation. Our waste management strategies are built around a business’ unique challenges.
The coming years will require even more attention to detail as the UK resources and waste strategy is rolling out and businesses navigate unprecedented policy change. New demands will be made on businesses that will require new knowledge, training and resources. Packaging needs to be reported under Extended Producer Responsibility, and the imminent Simpler Recycling Scheme will mean the sorting and collecting of mixed recycling, glass and food waste.
To help us understand how businesses are preparing for these changes and the impact on their wider sustainability plans, we have commissioned a survey to gain insight into their main priorities and barriers. This is an annual survey that also examines the types of support businesses need and how they report on progress. This year we asked 1001 businesses including 101 respondents from the hospitality sector.
A focus on the UK circular economy
90% of hospitality business decision makers believe their business is focused on the circular economy, this is 10% higher than the average response. This rises to 92% when refined to respondents from hospitality businesses with 500+ employees. Surprisingly, more hospitality SMEs (83%) see the circular economy as important to their day-to-day business than corporate-sized respondents (78%).
Putting this awareness and focus on a circular economy into action, 93% of hospitality businesses have a sustainability strategy in place or in planning in 2024. However, nearly two fifths of corporate hospitality businesses still have their sustainability strategy in planning. This suggests that larger organisations are waiting for clarity and consistency in the rollout of key regulations before implementing their strategy.
More education and clarity are needed
This trend is seen again when respondents were asked what support they needed to be more sustainable. Corporate-sized hospitality businesses’ two top responses were ‘educational materials’ and ‘clearer legislation’. Hospitality SME’s main type of support required were ‘financial incentives’ followed by ‘advice on best options for my business’.
When asked about their sustainability measurement and reporting, ‘volume of recovered, reused or recycled materials’, and ‘recyclability of products / packaging produced or purchased’ are the two lead focus areas. This was consistent across both SMEs and corporate respondents and reflects the packaging focus of current and impending regulation, such as: packaging Extended Producer Responsibility, Plastic Packaging Tax, Simpler Recycling, and eventually a UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme.
When it comes to reduction in food waste as a sustainability metric, 66% of hospitality SMEs measure food waste, compared to only 41% of corporate-sized hospitality businesses with 47% of responding ‘no, but we plan to in the future’. This suggests that larger businesses are focusing on the areas with clear regulation and reporting, such as packaging.
Explore our next steps for food waste circularity
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Data and collaboration are key
Our survey highlights that hospitality businesses of all sizes are planning and acting around sustainability. Over 90% of UK hospitality businesses with 10+ employees have a formal sustainability strategy in place or in planning. Sustainability strategies within independent organisations are essential, however, to make the next steps toward UK circularity those strategies need to align at supply chain level.
Biffa’s recent research on the UK’s journey to circularity analysed the most impactful circular interventions to improve the circularity of plastic packaging and food. One of the big challenges we faced in conducting this research was lack of data on the lifecycle of waste materials. We need better collaboration especially around data sharing to understand materials lifecycle before they are classified as waste.
Biffa collects and processes waste recycling from tens of thousands of hospitality businesses across all sub-sectors, we are supporting these organisations to prepare for the changes in regulations. Primarily to remain compliant, but also, to seize the opportunities that sustainable waste management presents. In many cases reducing waste and recycling more can reduce costs, improve employee and customer brand perception, and increase social value in communities in which businesses operate.
