News

SSP, a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations around the world, has released its first standalone Sustainability Report, covering the financial year 1st October 2021 to 30th September 2022.

Having launched its new sustainability strategy at the end of 2021, this report demonstrates SSP’s commitment to delivering great tasting, nutritious and sustainable food for people and the planet. It provides detailed information about the Group’s approach, progress against targets and future plans for its key focus areas:

• Serving customers responsibly
• Protecting the environment
• Supporting colleagues and communities
• Upholding high standards of governance

Patrick Coveney, Group CEO of SSP, said, “Sustainability is key to our long-term success and delivering our purpose to be the best part of the journey.”

“Our new sustainability strategy represents a step-change to our approach, and I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made in 2022 – from increasing our plant-based menu offerings to eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic from approximately 80% of our own brand packaging. We’ve also made great strides with our net zero ambition by completing the mapping of our total carbon footprint and developing our detailed plan to achieving net zero by 2040.

“I truly believe that, together, working in partnership with our clients, brand partners and suppliers, we can drive positive change across the food travel sector.”

Key 2022 achievements as outlined in the report include the following:

• 36% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions (vs 2029 baseline)
• Completed mapping of the Group’s Scope 3 emissions and development of its net zero roadmap, in line with a 1.5°C scenario
• 80% of SSP’s own brand packaging free of unnecessary single-use plastic with around 85% recyclable, reusable or compostable
• 67% of the tea, coffee and hot chocolate served by SSP-owned brands certified to standards such as Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance
• 33% of SSP’s own-brand meals plant based or vegetarian
• Over 387,000 meals saved from going to landfill via the Too Good To Go food saving app – the equivalent to over 968 tonnes of CO2e emissions
• 50% female representation on the SSP Group Board of Directors (an increase of 21% compared to 2021) and 36% women in senior leadership roles (an increase of 5% compared to 2021)
• Partnerships in place with 27 charities globally, 14 of which are focused on alleviating food poverty in local communities.

SSP is a signatory to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C and is submitting its net zero target and reduction plan to the SBTi for validation. As part of its commitment to transparency, the Group’s sustainability reporting is aligned with leading global reporting frameworks: the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards 2021, the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Restaurants Standard and the Task-Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Read the full report here: https://www.foodtravelexperts.com/media/xwudpv43/ssp-sustainability-report-2022_final-interactive-pdf.pdf