This Sustainable September, The Morning Advertiser (MA) has taken a look at whether sustainability can help pubs tackle rising operating costs, rather than representing another expense.
The pressure to prove the business case remains clear. In a series of snap polls on The MA’s Morning Round Up WhatsApp channel, upfront cost was by far the most selected barrier to further sustainability investment, accounting for 63% of responses, compared with a fifth (20%) for competing priorities and 17% for uncertainty over return on investment.
Energy was also seen as the biggest opportunity for savings, accounting for almost half (47%) of responses, ahead of food and drink waste at 19% and cellar and refrigeration at 12%.
But operators are already seeing results. Of those responding to whether sustainability measures had reduced costs, nearly three quarters (72%) said they had, including 31% who said the reduction had been significant.
Across operators of very different sizes, the examples show savings can come from major investment, but also from better data, tighter processes and simply using fewer resources.
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Case studies
The MA spoke to operators of different sizes to find out where sustainability is delivering measurable savings, where investment is paying back and where the commercial case is less straightforward.
St Austell: £9,000 annual saving through behaviour change
For St Austell Brewery, winner of Best Sustainable Pub Company at the 2026 Publican Awards, some of the clearest financial returns have come without major capital expenditure.
General managers receive weekly energy reports, pubs are benchmarked by energy intensity, and reduction targets are incorporated into performance incentives. The approach has helped improve energy intensity across the managed estate by 15% since 2024.
At the group’s Punchbowl & Ladle pub in Feock, operational changes identified through energy data are currently generating savings of more than £180 a week, equivalent to around £9,360 a year if maintained.
The changes include adjusting heating schedules, switching off equipment when it is not needed and identifying avoidable consumption through meter data.
St Austell sustainability manager Emily Coon told the MA that the example demonstrates why visibility should come before expensive technology. Smart meter data and staff engagement can highlight where money is being wasted before an operator decides where capital investment is needed.
A voltage optimisation trial at the Great Western in Newquay has also saved just over £2,000, alongside a reduction of 1,705kg CO2e over 270 days.
Elsewhere, St Austell has reduced total waste by 91% since 2023, increased recycling from 46% to 65%, cut brewery water intensity by 12% over two years and reduced food delivery miles by 33% since 2024.
However, Coon stressed not every sustainability decision should be judged on immediate financial return.
Local and regenerative sourcing, colleague training and sustainability audits can cost more but contribute to longer term resilience, staff engagement and stronger supply chains.
Ardent: Sustainability started as a cost saving exercise
Ardent Pub Group, a finalist in the Best Sustainable Pub Company category at the 2026 Publican Awards, began its route towards B Corp certification with a much more immediate concern: cutting costs.
Managing director Dom Jacobs told the MA that the three-site group’s sustainability journey was initially driven by post Covid inflation and rising costs across the business.
The clearest measurable return has come from appliance level energy monitoring through Cap Energy. At the George, annual electricity consumption fell from 336,160 kWh to 280,759 kWh, a 16.5% reduction equivalent to 55,401 kWh.
Ardent estimates the reduction represented around £10k to £11k in savings, based on 2023 to 2024 energy rates.
The monitoring provides real time alerts when equipment is consuming power unnecessarily, allowing the group to identify issues such as appliances running overnight.
Ardent has invested more than £25,000 across the Cap Energy system and its All Gravy people platform, which has delivered a less obvious sustainability return. Digitising recipes, food specifications and training reduced mistakes in kitchens, All Gravy results in fewer incorrectly prepared dishes and less food being thrown away.
Ardent has also focused on using offcuts, trimmings and less familiar cuts across its menus, while maintenance has become another area of focus as the group identifies leaking taps, toilets and pipework earlier.
But Jacobs and head of people operations Patrick Campbell were clear that sustainability does not automatically mean lower costs.
Ardent’s waste and recycling programme, which separates glass, recycling, food and general waste and operates on a zero to landfill basis, has not saved the group money.
Sustainable sourcing can also come at a premium. However, the group has found other ways to reduce packaging waste, including using wine on tap from Uncharted Wines for its by the glass offer. Last year, 556 20 litre kegs replaced an estimated 8,896kg of glass, 14,456 closures and labels and almost 890kg of cardboard.
The group also sees wider value in areas such as staff retention, with sustainability contributing to engagement in a sector where recruitment, training and loss of knowledge through turnover can carry significant hidden costs.
For operators with a limited budget, Ardent’s recommendation is straightforward: understand where the energy is going before buying anything new.
Wells & Co: Cellar investment pays back within two years
Wells & Co, also a finalist in the Best Sustainable Pub Company category at the 2026 Publican Awards, has found some of its strongest commercial sustainability returns in energy efficiency.
Trials of Technik2 beer cellar technology reduced electricity consumption by an average of 36%, representing projected savings of around 6,000 to 9,000 kWh per pub each year.
At an assumed electricity cost of 25p per kWh, that equates to approximately £1,500 to £2,250 in annual savings per site.
Installation typically costs between £1,750 and £2,750 per pub, depending on the equipment and number of fridges involved, giving an estimated payback period of around one to two years.
Voltage optimisation has also delivered electricity reductions of up to 10%.
Head of sustainability Ed Robinson told the MA that energy efficiency had moved beyond being purely an environmental initiative and had become a commercial necessity as energy prices put further pressure on pubs.
Food waste has produced another measurable return. Through tighter ordering, stock control, team training and menu development, Wells & Co said it improved dry gross profit margin by 0.9% in 2025, rising to 3.6% when inflation is taken into account.
General waste also fell by more than 20 tonnes across its UK managed estate during the period.
Looking ahead, the business sees water efficiency and onsite renewable generation as two of the biggest opportunities. Solar projects across the brewery and pub estate are currently expected to deliver average payback periods of around three to four years.
For operators deciding where to start, Wells & Co recommends looking at waste in the broadest sense, whether energy, food, water or packaging.
The Kirkstyle Inn & Sportsman’s Rest: Turning sustainability into a revenue stream
At the Kirkstyle Inn & Sportsman’s Rest in Northumberland, winner of Best Pub for Food at this year’s Great British Pub Awards, sustainability has become closely tied to the way the pub buys, cooks and operates.
One of its largest investments has been an onsite laundry. The rural location previously meant laundry travelled considerable distances. Bringing the service in house reduced that travel while allowing the pub to use energy efficient washing and drying equipment.
The initial investment was £60,000, but the business also began offering the laundry service to nearby operators, creating an additional revenue stream.
Within three and a half years, the investment had delivered a 100% return and the laundry is now profitable. It has also created one full time role and additional casual employment locally.
At the Kirkstyle Inn, savings extend into the kitchen. The pub buys whole animals directly from local farmers and sources game from its surrounding estate, allowing chefs to use more of each animal while reducing the number of intermediaries in the supply chain.
Fermentation, pickling and preservation allow surplus ingredients to be used later in the year, while growing herbs and vegetables and producing cordials, mixers and aperitifs in-house has reduced the cost of the pub’s non-alcoholic drinks offer by 5%.
The approach does not mean every sustainability project offers a straightforward return.
The Kirkstyle is considering spending around £40,000 on a composting machine to turn food waste into compost for its own garden and potentially the local community, but it does not yet know when that investment would generate a financial return.
For pubs with little capital to spend, its recommendation is simpler: replace continually purchased single use plastics with reusable containers, jars, bottles and lids.
Tork: Don’t overlook the washroom
Washrooms can also offer an overlooked opportunity to improve sustainability and reduce unnecessary consumption, according to hygiene specialist Tork.
Its 2025 Insight Survey found 67% of consumers want washrooms to be managed more sustainably, while only one in five washrooms meets people’s hygiene expectations.
The company said poor washroom experiences can also have commercial consequences, with 23% of consumers saying they would spend less time at a venue, 13% avoiding eating or drinking and 10% choosing not to return.
Tork said operators should consider reducing unnecessary consumable use alongside areas such as energy and food waste. Systems that dispense one sheet of toilet paper or one hand towel at a time, for example, can help limit consumption without compromising hygiene or the guest experience.
New initiatives: Where else could pubs save?
Alongside changes by operators themselves, suppliers are developing products designed to reduce both environmental impact and running costs.
Bulk formats cut packaging and costs
Alkatera founder Tim Etherington Judge has modelled the savings from supplying spirits in larger Bag in Box formats rather than individual glass bottles.
A report for rum brand Duppy Share estimated that a venue using 200 10 litre packs a year could save around £175 in waste and labour costs while removing roughly one tonne of glass. No additional equipment is required, while pubs can also benefit from reduced storage, breakage and potentially lower product prices.
- Cost to implement: £0 additional equipment cost
- Potential annual saving: around £175 per site*
- Payback: no equipment investment to recover
- Environmental benefit: around one tonne of glass removed annually*
*Based on alkatera modelling for a venue using 200 10 litre Bag in Box units a year.
Longer beer line cleaning cycles cut waste
LineClenze’s System28 combines beer line cleaning powder with an electronic yeast growth inhibitor, extending cleaning cycles from seven to 28 days.
Its model for a venue with 10 beer lines and an average £6 pint price estimates annual beer and labour savings of £7,995 before rental costs, leaving around £6,734 after rental. LineClenze says reducing cleans from 52 to 13 a year can also cut wasted beer, fresh water, wastewater and cleaning time by 75%.
- Upfront cost: £291 installation
- Ongoing cost: £97 every 28 days
- Potential annual saving: around £6,734 per typical venue*
- Payback: installation cost recovered quickly under LineClenze’s model
- Environmental benefit: 75% less wasted beer and fresh water use, including around 5,850 litres of fresh water annually*
*Based on LineClenze’s typical venue calculation using 10 beer lines and an average £6 pint price.
Smarter controls reduce cooling costs
Technik2 Energy Solutions uses controls across cellar cooling, python systems, bottle fridges and walk in refrigeration to reduce unnecessary energy use.
For a typical pub consuming around 98,300 kWh a year, the company estimates its £5,100 package could cut consumption by around 32,200 kWh and deliver approximately £5,600 in first year savings.
- Cost to implement: around £5,100 including installation*
- Potential annual saving: around £5,600*
- Payback: around 11 months
- Environmental benefit: around 32,200 kWh and 4.8 tonnes of carbon saved annually*
*Based on Technik2 modelling for its typical pub installation.
Refillable cleaning cuts chemical spend
The Plastic Solution supplies concentrated cleaning chemicals in reusable sealed containers, reducing both packaging waste and chemical costs.
The company says operators typically cut cleaning product costs by 15% to 40%. In one hospitality example, annual spending on cleaning, dishwasher and glasswasher chemicals fell from close to £25,000 to around £20,000. The reusable system also reduces deliveries, storage requirements and single use plastic.
- Cost to implement: £0 upfront cost
- Potential annual saving: around £4,500 in one hospitality example
- Payback: no upfront investment to recover
- Environmental benefit: around 500 single use plastic containers avoided per average hospitality venue annually
Cutting waste before spending money
Across the operators and suppliers featured, one theme emerges repeatedly: the quickest sustainability returns often come from understanding where resources are being wasted before committing to major capital expenditure.
Energy monitoring exposed equipment running unnecessarily at Ardent and St Austell. Wells & Co found measurable returns from controlling cellar equipment. The Kirkstyle Inn & Sportsman’s Rest created an entirely new revenue stream by bringing an existing service in house.
But the examples also show sustainability cannot always be reduced to a payback calculation. Recycling, responsible sourcing, training and environmental programmes may cost more while delivering benefits that are harder to capture on a monthly P&L.
For operators facing continued pressure on margins, however, reducing wasted energy, food, water, packaging and staff time increasingly offers a point where environmental and commercial priorities meet.
