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Environmental responsibility is embedded across the organisations brewing, wholesale and pub operations through its Crafting a Brighter Future strategy, providing a clear framework for creating long-term positive impact.
Over the past two years, sustainability has been integrated into governance, operational reporting and leadership incentives in a bid to cement accountability at every level.
One area of focus has been reducing waste across its managed estate. This has included detailed food waste audits helping to identify and tackle produce being lost from preparation, spoilage and plates through menu development, staff training and redistribution partnerships.
Food miles reduction
Water waste has been another key concentration where enhancements at the breweries and water-saving measures in the pub estate have resulted in thousands of litres being saved.
St Austell is also reducing Scope 3 emissions through close working relationships with suppliers.
Last year saw the business reduce food delivery miles by a third (33%) as well as drive the use of local fish on menus by 20% alongside working with partners to develop a 100% regenerative burger roll, helping to support farming practices that improve soil health and biodiversity.
Another priority at the business is energy reduction. This is supported by regularly monitoring performance alongside annual reduction targets and investment in renewable technologies including solar power.
Sustainability leader
Last year, it strengthened its approach to carbon management through the res-establishment of a carbon baseline, in a bid to track progress and support future target setting and direct fuel emissions have reduced by 90% compared to 2022.
Sustainability forms part of capital expenditure decisions, underlining the group’s long-term approach.
Furthermore, the south-west-based business continues to champion local sourcing, community engagement and employee empowerment with teams provided with the tools and knowledge to identify efficiencies and drive change in their own operations, helping to embed sustainability throughout.
Through a combination of scale, consistency and strategic planning, St Austell has positioned itself as a sustainability leader in the sector, illustrating how environmental responsibility can be integrated successfully and support long-term commercial success.
