STORIES FROM THE PAST YEAR
Wonky Fruit Sour
Turning surplus fruit into beer innovation
Food waste is a challenge across the supply chain, with perfectly good produce often discarded simply because it doesn’t meet appearance standards. We saw an opportunity to do something different.
Working with surplus fruit, our brewing team created Wonky Fruit Sour, giving ingredients that may otherwise have gone to waste a second life through brewing innovation. The project demonstrates how creativity can help reduce waste while delivering something distinctive for customers.
Impact
- Reduced food waste
- Supported more circular use of ingredients
- Showcased innovation through sustainable brewing
Operation Segregation
Changing waste behaviours across pubs
Improving recycling isn’t only about infrastructure, it starts with behaviour. To help our teams manage waste more effectively, we rolled out Operation Segregation across the business.
The initiative provided practical guidance and tools to make recycling easier, reduce contamination and improve understanding of waste streams across our pubs. By empowering teams to make small changes every day, we achieved significant improvements at scale.
Impact
- Recycling rates doubled
- General waste reduced by up to 40%
- Total waste reduced by 49% compared with 2023
Plug into a Brighter Future
Bringing suppliers together
Delivering meaningful change requires collaboration across the value chain. That’s why we launched Plug into a Brighter Future, bringing together business partners and suppliers around a shared sustainability agenda.
The initiative creates opportunities to share ideas, build stronger partnerships and identify practical actions that reduce environmental impact while creating long-term value.
Impact
- Strengthened supplier collaboration
- Increased knowledge sharing and engagement
- Built stronger foundations for collective action
Children's Hospice Partnership
Supporting communities that matter
Ahead of our 175th anniversary, colleagues across the business selected Children’s Hospice South West as our Charity of the Year.
The partnership reflects our commitment to supporting the communities around our pubs, breweries and depots. Through fundraising initiatives, colleague-led activities and donations from selected menu items, we’re working together to make a meaningful contribution to families across the region.
Impact
- Business-wide fundraising and colleague engagement
- Long-term support for communities across the South West
- Helping raise vital funds for children and families
Carbon Literacy
Building knowledge to drive action
Creating a more sustainable business starts with understanding. Through carbon literacy training, we are equipping colleagues with the knowledge and confidence to understand climate impacts and identify opportunities for positive change.
By building awareness across the business, we are helping sustainability become part of everyday decisions, from operations and procurement to leadership and innovation.
Impact
- Increased understanding of climate challenges
- Empowered colleagues to identify opportunities for action
- Embedded sustainability into everyday decision-making