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Gaucho fans, ambassadors of sustainability and earth lovers – welcome to part 2 of the Impact Blog Series. If you read our first feature Impact Blog 1 last month, you’ll know we’re on a mission to become a net zero carbon business by 2030. This month we we’re taking a closer look at some of the sustainability initiatives we’ve carried out already, to get us started on this journey.
In 2021 we became a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), who have helped us conduct a sustainability assessment – a holistic review across all aspects of operations, from sourcing food to community initiatives and efficient energy use. The results from this will feed into our net zero strategy, alongside our progress with the Carbon Forum, who we joined forces with, in January 2022. The Forum was set up specifically for hospitality businesses, offering guidance on the net zero journey, using the community spirit of our great industry to learn, share and facilitate collaborative projects. The forum will help to influence restaurant supply chains encouraging them to start calculating their carbon footprints, reduce waste in the supply chain and invest in more efficient transport logistics.
The power and influence of the industry has also given us the opportunity to push for legislative changes, which go beyond the changes we’re making at Rare – something we’re very proud to be a part of. We joined the Better Business Act Coalition in 2021 to call for an amendment to The Companies Act, so that the interests of shareholders increasingly align with environmental and sustainability needs.
Finally, we are proud to be able to see more results of our investment in reforestation and offsetting projects both here in the UK and in South America. In addition to our work with Not For Sale (highlighted last month), our Gaucho Impact Ambassadors enjoyed a day of tree planting in the Hampshire countryside alongside our drinks partners Glass Half Full and Sapling Spirits. We planted 600 trees in total, which will offset around 900 tonnes of carbon over their lifetime. Having measured the carbon footprint of our Argentinian beef, these projects contribute towards the offsetting needs of our beef production and our carbon neutral beef offering.
It’s fair to say that a large part of the work we’re committed to is happening behind the scenes and so we decided to expand our focus into the restaurants, creating initiatives that involve staff and customers. It’s important for us to be able to provide a visible and tangible experience, to help us spread awareness to our customers and beyond. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to
