We think carefully about how to reduce the amount of resource we use, plus how to recycle our used resources into something new.
We think carefully about how to reduce the amount of resource we use, plus how to recycle our used resources into something new. Below are some of the highlights from our UK and Ireland team over the last couple of years and you can read our policy on managing our environmental impact here.
Define our global water footprint and develop reduction targets.
Aim to achieve zero waste to landfill at all our retail stores in our key markets.
Enable used coffee grounds to be up-cycled in all retail stores
In partnership with Biffa, we recycle plastics and cardboard in our owned UK stores. Any residual waste is processed and converted into energy. We currently recycle around 56% of the waste we generate, slightly down on our pre-pandemic levels, and send less than 0.5% of our waste to landfill.
Food waste is a huge challenge globally and we all have a part to play in reducing it. In 2019 we committed to reduce our food waste by signing the Step Up to the Plate Pledge and the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. In 2022 we joined WRAP’s 2030 Courtauld Commitment, which also has a key focus on food waste reduction. We're striving to get better data on exactly how much food gets wasted across our stores, so that we can put in place interim targets to achieve our ultimate aspiration that ‘no edible food should go to waste’.
Our starting point is improving our food ordering system so that we reduce the potential for food waste to arise in the first place. Our store teams then follow the principles of the food waste hierarchy: sell any unsold food at a reduced price; attempt to donate unsold food to local organisations and charities where possible; recycle any remaining food that is no longer safe to consume. Here are some examples of how we do this:
To minimise food waste, we offer in-store discounts on food that is nearing its expiration date.
We also strive to reduce food waste in our supply chain (for example in warehouses), which we predominantly achieve by donating surplus food that might otherwise go to waste to FareShare. FareShare then redistribute this food to a range of charities and community groups across the UK. Since 2014 we have donated 144 tonnes of food to FareShare, more than 340,000 meals.
If you represent a charity that could make use of our food surplus and would like to collect regularly from your local store towards the end of their trading hours, please pop in and speak with the Store Manager. For further information read our Food Surplus Store Donations Policy.
We're proud to have a long-standing relationship with Too Good To Go, whose app is the world’s largest business to consumer marketplace for surplus food. At the end of each day, our store teams make up ‘Surprise Bags’ of unsold food for collection. Since August 2018, we have saved over 1 million meals via Too Good to Go! To get a Costa Surprise Bag, head to the app.
Any food that cannot be eaten is sent back to anaerobic digestion, where it produces green biogas rather than going to landfill.
We're supporting the people at the heart of our business and investing in our teams by creating an inclusive work space so people can bring their true selves to work.
