Doing their bit

The cost of running a pub, a pub estate, or a brewery is onerous at the best of times.

But in today's tough economy operators are more conscious than ever of the need to focus on efficiencies, and 'going green' is now about saving money as much as it is about saving the Brazilian rainforest.

It doesn't work every time, however. JD Wetherspoon recently trumpeted the opening of its £3m eco-pub, the Kettleby Cross in Leicestershire, but later ruled out further such efforts, a decision met with relief by some environmental campaigners, who saw any green benefits outweighed by the cost of building such a site. And some smaller brewers find that they cannot always implement CHP - combined heat and power - systems as they do not operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, the incentive to cut energy consumption is considerable. The Carbon Trust, established by the government seven years ago to assist businesses move to a low energy regime, reckons that reducing energy costs by a fifth can have the same effect on a company's bottom line as a five per cent increase in sales.

The Trust believes that understanding one's energy use, identifying where savings can be made and implementing and subsequently monitoring changes can save a business cash and improve its functionality.

So what are individual companies doing to save money and help the planet into the bargain? Read on…

Enterprise Inns

A £140,000 investment programme in the pubco's Solihull head office is expected to deliver energy savings of up to 40 per cent over the next three years, according to Russ Burton, Enterprise's head of property.

Among building management initiatives is technology to close down 'dormant' office equipment overnight and at weekends, including computers and photocopiers. Meters have been installed to turn down lights "when light levels from outside are adequate".

Enterprise is also introducing "super efficient" cars to its company car fleet and is making wider use of conference calls to reduce travelling for internal meetings.

Across its pub estate the group has upgraded the construction specification for its building insulation covering roof, window and cavity wall insulation, while a full pub relamping programme is under way to convert pub lighting systems to low energy bulbs.

A working party is looking at a number of solutions, says Burton, including working with waste management companies, to be trialled at a pilot group of pubs, with results anticipated by the group's year end.

Fuller, Smith & Turner

John Roberts, managing director of brewing and brands at the West London-based group, says Fuller's has reduced its water consumption by more than half in the last 20 years. "Brewing has always been, and always will be, an environmentally friendly process with so much of the waste produced already being recycled as animal feed," says Roberts.

"We recently established a team to look at our pub estate and how it can integrate carbon emission reduction and energy saving into daily routines, the refurbishment process and equipment purchasing.

"We will also look to buy the best environmental products, for example outdoor light and heat solutions with timer switches and sensor activation, and replacing old, inefficient equipment, rather than patching it up," adds Roberts.

"Finally, we are moving to online ordering. In our managed estate alone this will eliminate paper from our food ordering system, saving some 200,000 pieces of paper per year, as well as reducing the amount of post we have delivered."

Greene King

A signatory to the British Beer & Pub Association's umbrella agreement on climate change since its inception, Greene King says that last year both its brewery and head office out-performed the agreement's annual carbon dioxide emissions' target by 12 per cent.

Energy consumption per barrel has also been reduced by 12 per cent in the last two years, and per-barrel water consumption has been cut by 17 per cent in the same period. The installation of its own bottling line in 2006 has seen the removal of more than 400,000 miles-worth of HGV transportation.

Various schemes and equipment has been introduced into Greene King pubs to monitor energy usage. Both pub staff and managers are involved to ensure everyone understands the goals surrounding reducing energy consumption. Saving energy is now a part of the brewer's culture and operations.

Meanwhile, around 80 per cent of the brewer's managed pubs - some 700-plus sites - have some form of recycling initiative.

Marston's

Faced with a near-£13m a year energy bill - a typical Marston's pub sees annual energy costs of £23,000 - the Midlands brewer contacted the Carbon Trust to find a way of improving energy efficiency and reducing its carbon footprint from its current annual level of 60,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The Trust identified a number of issues that needed to be addressed during a pilot scheme involving 30 pubs. The trial's findings include the need to focus on more efficient refrigeration - both maintenance and new equipment - and on heating.

The brewer says other key achievements include the appointment of a full time energy manager, responsible from implementing the Trust's recommendations. Other initiatives include raising staff awareness and fitting automatic meter reading technology into a growing number of its pubs.

Once implemented, Marston's believes such policies will cut its carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 16 per cent.

Mitchells & Butlers

The environment may not exactly be uppermost in the minds of Mitchells & Butlers' (M&B) senior management right now but the group's pubs are on the case when it comes to recycling.

More than 85 per cent of M&B's 2,000 pubs and pub restaurants recycle general waste and card, and around 1,200 pubs also recycle glass, adding up to some 18,000 tonnes of waste recycled annually.

All the group's pubs have waste cooking oil collected and converted into bio-diesel or renewable energy. More than 1,800 tonnes of used cooking oil is collected from M&B pubs which, when converted into bio-diesel, reduces UK CO2 emissions by around 6,000 tonnes a year.

M&B says it plans to trial the collection of food waste from its pubs and is currently undertaking a feasibility study, assessing how collections could work across its estate.

David James, senior purchasing manager, says: "Over the last 12 months we have worked hard to progress our recycling programme and improve our waste management.

"As part of our ongoing commitment to the environment we will continue to look at new ways to reduce waste and trial new recycling initiatives."

Punch Taverns

Spirit Group may be the subject of on/off bid interest but owner Punch Taverns says it is determined to build on the results of an energy saving scheme that has delivered results for its pubs.

A dedicated carbon team and carbon manager have been appointed to carry out its carbon reduction programme, and all 800 of the group's managed pubs have had 'smart meters' installed in order to help cut its carbon footprint by 17 per cent by 2010, through real-time monitoring of water, electricity and gas usage.

Spirit managing director Andrew Knight says the group has "set aside substantial funds to invest in energy-saving solutions in its managed pubs, including improved insulation, better boilers and heating controls". Spirit plans to build a new carbon neutral head office opposite the group's current headquarters in Burton-on-Trent.

Meanwhile, Punch says it is working on "spreading best practice and tips gained from the managed business across its leased business".

St Austell Brewery

Leading by example in his company's war on carbon emissions, St Austell's managing director James Staughton