Green Policy
We take extra steps to minimise our impact on the environment through innovative and pioneering measures.
CONTRIBUTING TO A GREENER FUTURE
We consider the impact of our restaurants on a local and global scale with each decision we make.
We go beyond wanting to minimise our negative impact – we want our restaurants to have a positive impact on the environment.
We have, for more than five decades, changed the relationship between our restaurants and our most important asset: the planet.
View the changes we have made in our restaurants and takeaways below.
INSULATION
Each of our restaurants has double-glazed windows and doors to improve insulation. Our buildings are thermal tested on an annual basis to monitor heat loss and heating efficiency.
GAS
All gas frying ranges are state-of-the-art ‘high efficiency’ ranges, which are imported from Holland. This efficiency minimises the use of gas across our company.
We use gas for heating and hot water, which is monitored by our building energy management system.
ELECTRICITY
Our restaurants operate smart meters to monitor electricity usage.
We have replaced over 2000 bulbs in all restaurants with LED energy saving bulbs, which has reduced energy output from 40w to 4w. Each of our restrooms use sensor activated lighting which turns off when not in use.
WATER
To reduce the amount of water we use, we installed:
- smart commercial dishwashers which use environmentally friendly chemicals
- flush volume reducers in our toilets
- sensors for urinals.
All restaurants are now fitted with water pressure reducers to limit the amount of water wasted.
Our water quality has been checked to make sure it conforms to the latest EU legislation.
RECYCLING
General
Each restaurant recycles paper, cardboard, glass and food. We also work closely with our local councils to find new ways to recycle waste.
We aim to become ‘Zero waste to landfill’ by 2020.
Equipment
Any old or broken equipment in our restaurants is broken down into reusable components and is disposed of by a registered waste contractor under The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) regulations.
Homeless Shelters – charity
Papa’s supports local homeless shelters by regularly donating freshly cooked meals to charities. Each year we aim to donate thousands of cooked meals to the local homeless communities.
To avoid wastage each week, products which are entirely fit for consumption, but do not meet our high standard of freshness are collected by local charities and prepared in various soup kitchens and hostels around our restaurants.
FOOD AND DRINK
Papa’s has a policy of purchasing the freshest seasonal ingredients available.
Where possible we use local suppliers to reduce our carbon footprint. Our fish merchant, potatoes merchant and frying medium supplier are Lincolnshire and Yorkshire companies, most of who are family run.
Where food cannot be sourced locally then all other food is sourced from the UK (exception for Norwegian Fish)
All the potatoes meat we buy are British and Red Tractor approved products.
We use Fairtrade produce whenever we can and guarantee all our coffee beans and tea leaves are sourced sustainably from Fairtrade suppliers.
The Haddock and Cod used in all of our meals are MSC accredited and sourced from sustainable waters. Our Cleethorpes restaurant holds the MSC Chain of Custody.
OIL RECYCLING
We discard our used oil twice a week which is collected by a licensed disposal team and recycled into renewable energy.
BUILDING MAINTENANCE
We carry out regular maintenance checks on all restaurant buildings.
WASTE DISPOSAL
All waste must be disposed of in accordance with the relevant legislation:
The Environmental Protection Act 1990
The Controlled Waste Regulations 1991
The Special Waste Regulations 1996 (as amended)
POLLUTION CONTROL
Air
Across all of our restaurants – Vehicles are not permitted to leave their engines running while delivering to the premises.
Our restaurants have state-of-the-art odour control systems, ducting and range serving contracts in place to maintain the high quality clean air which is released from our extraction systems.
Drainage
Grease traps are used throughout the kitchen and a planned maintenance programme is in place to maintain all drains on a regular basis.
PLASTIC
Papa’s has pioneered the Takeaway Plastic Pledge – which aims to encourage the reduction and responsible recycling of all single use plastic products. We have removed all plastic straws, plastic chip forks and polystyrene trays from the restaurants which have signed the pledge. Our takeaway packaging now uses compostable corrugated cardboard boxes instead of polystyrene.
We are also proud that, through our campaigning and dedication, we have managed to encourage hundreds of other takeaways to sign our pledge and reduce the impact of single use plastic on our environment.
As part of this goal, we have also joined the Refill Movement www.refill.org.uk – making our restaurants free water refill destinations to minimise the use of single use plastic bottles.
BEACH CLEANS
As part of our Takeaway Plastic Pledge we have pledged to engage in beach cleans across our local communities. We created annual Beach Clean Day which is held every autumn. To find out more visit www.TakeawayPlastic.co.uk to find out more and get involved.
GREEN ACHIEVEMENTS
Papa’s is fully dedicated to reducing its impact on the environment. Some recent achievements –
- Reduced carbon footprint at least 500 tonnes
- All lights are LED
- Reduced electricity, gas and water consumption and costs by 10%
- Increased recycling, with 100% of glass products now being recycled
- Served over 1,000 meals to the homeless and Team Members opened the restaurant on Christmas Day to serve the local homeless community.
- Reduced waste by 365,000 plastic chip forks, not going to landfill. We introduced wooden chip forks across all our takeaways.
- Took part in ‘Earth Hour’ and several corporate social responsibility events
- All new starter packs are now paperless
- All food hygiene and management duties are now paperless
- All printers have been set to ‘Double sided’ black and white printing as default.
TARGETS
We aim to maintain and build on the developments we have made – specifically:
- Continue to reduce single use plastic – specifically working with suppliers to reduce single use plastic in their packaging and deliveries
- Reduce electricity and gas usage by a further 5% by setting workable targets using newly installed smart meters
- Donate over 1,500 meals to local homeless shelters