Wahaca named Britain's most sustainable restaurant chain by Which?

Wahaca has been named Britain’s most sustainable restaurant chain by consumer group Which?.

The Mexican casual dining group, co-founded by Thomasina Miers and Mark Selby, was praised for its use of free-range chicken, pork and eggs, its work to reduce its beef offering to one menu option and its championing of plant-based eating.

Which? said it also has sustainable sourcing policies for palm oil, soya, tea, coffee and sugar, and was the only chain in its analysis that lists carbon emissions for its meals.

Wahaca co-founder Mark Selby said: “With sustainability playing such a significant part in everything that we do at Wahaca, it's a real honour to receive this accolade from Which?.

“We couldn't have achieved this position without the tireless work being done, not just within the company but also from the incredible suppliers and producers who help to fill our menus with dishes that, as well as tasting great, have a minimal impact on the environment.

“Of course, our sustainability journey is an ongoing one and we continue to explore the ways that we can, as a business, tread as lightly on the planet as possible."

The Which? Eco provider endorsement, which signposts companies that are ahead of their competitors on sustainability, was awarded to Frankie & Benny’s, Nando’s, Pret A Manger, Wagamama and Young’s pub group.

It had asked restaurant groups about key sustainability issues including resources and emissions, sourcing policies, waste and plastics, transparency and customer choice as well as targets.

In its analysis Nando’s received full marks for its waste and plastics policies.

At the opposite end of the sustainability table were Greggs and KFC. Which? said their scores were heavily impacted by the omission of key data – although it recognised both had ambitious reduction targets for the future.

Scores for Greggs were average across the board, but it did not share information on its water usage, food waste or non-food waste to landfill figures. KFC scored well for emissions data but omitted information on electricity or water consumption, renewable energy, food waste and landfill.

Which? said most of the chains it approached made an effort to provide the requested information, but Five Guys, Hungry Horse, PizzaExpress, Subway, TGI Fridays and YO! Sushi ignored the requests or declined to participate in the analysis.

The consumer body said 44% of consumers wanted restaurants to be proactive when it came to sustainability and 27% would like restaurants to provide sustainability information on menus.

Shefalee Loth, Which? nutritionist, said: “Many people want to play their part in preventing climate change by making more sustainable choices, and they expect restaurants to support them by being transparent about their emissions and where they source their food from.

“Our research shows that some restaurant chains are doing much more than others to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and food waste.

“By visiting one of the restaurants named a Which? Eco Provider, diners can be confident they are at a chain that has impressive green credentials.”

The research has been criticised by the Zero Carbon Forum which said it failed to encompass all the efforts being taken in the industry to tackle sustainability issues.

A spokesperson for the forum said: “Over 60 businesses across the hospitality industry, operating 35,000 sites, representing 35% of the sector are collaborating through the forum to reduce emissions with greater speed and efficiency than they could otherwise achieve individually.

“Zero Carbon Forum has set a roadmap for members, including those ranked in this report: Burger King, Five Guys, Frankie & Benny’s, JD Wetherspoon, KFC, McDonald’s UK, Nando’s, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, TGI Friday’s, Young & Co, Wagamama and Zizzi to reach net zero operational emissions by 2030 and supply chains by 2040.

“Members have already removed over half a million tonnes of CO2 a year through energy initiatives such as efficiency measures, onsite generation and renewable procurement.”

Image: Shutterstock