On Thursday 25 June Gram’s latest panel of experts took to the stage to discuss the benefits of operational efficiencies within foodservice outlets, as the company’s Go Green Debate live streamed its second webinar in the series.

The four strong panel including, Andrew Fishwick, owner of The Truscott Arms, Mark Linehan, managing director at the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the Carbon Trust’s director of implementation, Myles McCarthy, and panel chair Glenn Roberts, managing director, Gram UK, settled down for an hour long debate with the aim of helping operators understand the tax incentives and schemes available to businesses looking to implement sustainable practices. 

The debate aimed to shed light on what businesses can do to become more operationally efficient by introducing sustainable initiatives and how this can have a positive impact on their business success. With many operators completely unaware of government incentives to become more sustainable and the tax benefits available, the panel provided guidance to those who felt in the dark.

The panel of industry experts raised a range of compelling points including restaurateur Andrew Fishwick’s admission that when procuring equipment for The Truscott Arms he “had no knowledge of the government-funded tax incentive schemes” and that he strongly believes that incentive schemes should be made much more accessible. Despite trying to make informed choices he is conscious that there is a need for more transparency and a clearer rating system, such as ABC ratings in the domestic market.

Myles McCarthy from the Carbon Trust highlighted the importance of the ETL (Energy Technology List) which gives a standardised criteria for equipment listed to perform against, and an opportunity for operators to research equipment that can benefit from tax breaks and incentive schemes.

SRA’s (Sustainable Restaurant Association) managing director Mark Linehan raised a interesting point that “sustainable restaurant businesses are cheaper to insure” meaning that those implementing green practices further reduce their overheads.

Previous Go Green Debate panellist Cyrus Todiwala challenged the panel to respond to his question on how independent operators don’t have the time or energy to chase tax rebates, so why can’t tax breaks be incorporated in capital investment at point of purchase?

A multi-layered question, the panel all agreed that the current system does not make it easy for tax breaks to be incorporated at the point of purchase, but that the supply chain does need to bear the responsibility for sustainability in the industry.

The final webinar will be held on 24 September and will look ahead to the future of foodservice, analysing the trends which will shape the green initiatives being implemented in the industry, and highlighting the key issues that will need to be tackled for sustainable progression to occur.

Taking a look at topics such as the advancements in energy efficient technology, to choosing sustainable suppliers, the webinar will underline the importance of the whole supply chain's engagement, to work collaboratively to create a more sustainable future for the sector.

The culmination of The Go Green Debate will be a free to attend half-day summit at The Charlotte Street Hotel on 20 October, exclusively open to those responsible for the procurement of catering equipment.

To watch the webinar from Thursday 25 June go to http://fsmevents.com/gram/webinar02

To register for the third webinar in this series visit www.thegogreendebate.co.uk