Royal Brompton awarded for its ‘green’ kitchen

The catering team at Royal Brompton Hospital has been awarded the Green Kitchen Standard by UK charity, the Soil Association, which campaigns for healthy, humane and sustainable food.

The Green Kitchen Standard recognises caterers that are making positive steps to sustainably manage their energy, water and waste.

Royal Brompton’s catering team was praised for its plans and targets. The report cited: “A really thorough food waste minimisation plan is in place with progress tracked against targets regularly.” It also acknowledged staff members’ knowledge and the innovative technologies in use, such as Leanpath, which monitors food waste and calculates the carbon footprint of recipes.

Nuno Matias, catering manager, commented:

“I am absolutely delighted with this achievement. The team has long been committed to providing as sustainable a service as possible – certification like this demonstrates the integrity of what we do to everyone who buys a drink or a meal from us.”

 Among its sustainability initiatives, Royal Brompton Hospital’s catering team has:

• Put a stop to single-use plastics
• Added a discount for staff and visitors if they bring their own reusable cups and containers
• Introduced more seasonal and vegan/vegetarian dishes
• Cut down on carbon-footprint-heavy beef and lamb by 30%
• Reduced food waste by 40%
• Installed a bio waste processor to turn food waste to compost