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Impact Blog: Restaurant Social Responsibility

Our Mission In Becoming A Zero Carbon Business

Restaurant Social Responsibility

Impact fanatics, welcome back to volume 6 of the blog series! We’re extremely pleased to have reached the six-month milestone and evidently, we’ve picked up a few avid readers along the way. It brings us joy to know that we have succeeded in captivating the attention of conscious consumers, and it’s especially reassuring to know that there is a strong community out there who share our devotion for positive action.

Since publishing the first blog in January we have covered a range of important topics such as our involvement with the SRA, sustainable sourcing, low carbon beef farming and sustainability events happening in London. This month we are taking a closer look at the importance of charity partnerships, in particular ‘Not For Sale’, a modern-day anti-slavery charity, working across the globe with communities most at-risk.

At Rare Restaurants we understand the importance of joining forces and supporting charitable organisations. We currently work with six partners, which has opened new doors for us over the past few years, helping us gain access to a vital network of contacts, bring employment to a new group, align our mission, and ultimately achieve our goal to diversify our workforce and make it even more inclusive.

Not For Sale (NFS)

Globally, there are 45.8 million people living in slavery. NFS are fighting to end the lack of economic opportunity and environmental degradation that leads to exploitation, striving for a world where people and planet function in harmony; a world where no one is for sale. NFS work with local experts to understand the root causes of slavery. They investigate local economies to discover where the cycle can be broken and partner with local entrepreneurs to create projects that provide education, empowerment, and income for those most at risk.

Both Gaucho and M restaurants have a long-standing partnership with NFS. Through this partnership, we have pledged to raise and donate £1,000,000 over 10 years. So far, we have raised money through numerous campaigns including the yearly ‘M Is Not For Sale’ fundraiser and a pop-up restaurant experience at M Victoria where all profits go to the charity. We are proud to now be increasing our support with investment in their carbon offsetting initiatives.

Carbon Offsetting with Not For Sale

While we are working on a long-term strategy to reduce the emissions at source on our farms in Argentina and across the supply chain, we are also working to tackle our historic emissions through this charity partnership. We are focusing our investments in community projects that have a carbon offsetting potential, such as reforestation or afforestation initiatives. In January 2021, we planted 4,056 trees in South America, offsetting 1,464 tonnes of CO2eq, and we have just invested in offsetting the last six months of our beef carbon emissions.

We are now also supporting further projects across nine countries where we source beef for both Gaucho and M. Over 17,500 trees will be planted, offsetting nearly 4 million tonnes of CO2eq.

Peru Projects: 

Planted tree species Aniba canelilla

  • 340 trees planted
  • Each tree will offset approximately 14kg of carbon per year
  • Uses: craftwork, construction timber, carpentry, essential oils, medicine

Planted tree species Bertholletia excelsa

  • 387 trees planted
  • Each tree offsets approximately 20kg of carbon per year
  • Uses: beekeeping, construction timber, cosmetics, aids land reclamation and soil restoration

Planted tree species Hura crepitans

  • 193 trees planted
  • Each tree offsets approximately 8kg of carbon per year
  • Uses: Resin, medicine, aids land reclamation and soil restoration

Planted tree species Theobroma cacoa

  • 1,284 trees planted
  • Each tree offsets approximately 8kg of carbon per year
  • Uses: chocolate

Brazil Projects: 

Planted tree species Carapa guianensis

  • 279 trees planted
  • Each tree offsets approximately 40kg of carbon per year
  • Uses: Cosmetics and traditional medicines

Planted tree species Enterolobirum contortisiliquum

  • 1,573 trees planted
  • Each tree offsets approximately 24kg of carbon per year
  • Uses: wood for construction, medicine, ornamental

Restaurant social responsibility continues to be a principal focus for Gaucho and M Restaurants. Our charity partners play a huge part, when it comes to sustainability and our core values for community. We’re delighted to be working with so many remarkable charities, who are helping us achieve our goals and inspire new opportunities creating positive impacts on the planet. We would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Not For Sale – we are very proud of the work we have done together and we’re excited at the prospect of what is to come in the future.

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