How Compass Group is Making Decarbonisation the ‘Language of Commercial Teams’

'Sustainability without financial performance remains marginal in its impact.'

I've heard this sentiment a lot in boardrooms and at industry events. And I think we’re finally hitting a tipping point where more companies are doing something about it.  At the Sustainable Foods conference in early February this year, there were more CEOs and senior commercial leaders than there ever has been in years past.  The discussion was richer, focused on actions and progress that mapped to business results, not just SBTi targets.  

Which is why, when I read Compass Group UK & Ireland's newly published Our Planet Promise, I found myself genuinely energised.

This isn't a sustainability report that lives in an ESG function. It's an account of a business that has made sustainability structural - woven into procurement decisions, chef training, executive pay, and the data systems that drive day-to-day operations. As a partner to Compass and Foodbuy throughout this journey, seeing that depth of commitment set out so clearly is incredibly humbling.

Here are some key things in the report that helpfully showcase the “how” in Compass’ transformation:  

Sustainability embedded in procurement - not sitting next to it

Compass manages over £2 billion in procurement spend each year through Foodbuy Group, their procurement arm. The scale of that means sourcing decisions have a direct and significant impact on the food system. What’s clear is that Compass has made a deliberate choice to use that influence.

A dedicated sustainability team sits within Foodbuy itself - inside the commercial function, not in a separate ESG department. All 700+ contracted suppliers must declare, as a prerequisite to supply, that they align with Foodbuy's sustainability framework. Contractually binding. In a recent tea tender, sustainability accounted for a third of the evaluation criteria.  

These are strong signals to Compass’ suppliers on their expectations for the future.  Not mentioned in the report, but another way we are seeing some of our enterprise clients embed sustainability further is by including it in their procurement teams’ incentives.  These are the building blocks to ensure that sustainability initiatives are shaped in the right way to drive real, scalable change across the food system AND maximise commercial advantage.

Speaking the language of commercial teams

With regards to the Net Zero Pipeline - a project we built together with Foodbuy to identify carbon reduction opportunities across the supply chain - the report says it has 'helped galvanise procurement teams through speaking the language of commercial functions and establishing strong mechanisms to consider emissions alongside cost in everyday business decision making.'

That's the real challenge in food system decarbonisation. It's rarely a shortage of sustainability intent. It's the translation problem: how do you make carbon reduction native to how category managers and buyers actually think, rather than an overlay on top of their existing work?

The Net Zero Pipeline surfaced 25 carbon reduction initiatives across Compass's most material categories - meat, poultry and dairy - presenting them in a way that puts emissions alongside cost in everyday decisions. The result?: switching Norwegian haddock to Alaskan pollock delivered a 70% CO2e reduction. Switching soya mince to pre-cooked lentils delivered 84%. Alongside the pipeline, we co-developed and rolled out six carbon reduction playbooks to procurement teams - one per food category - to give sourcing teams practical, product-level guidance when they are considering suppliers.

In the kitchen, not just the boardroom

What I find most compelling about this report is the breadth of where Foodsteps' tools are being used. Over 5,400 recipes have been centrally analysed using our A-E carbon rating system. Chefs across Compass Education now use a live 'sandbox' dashboard to run carbon analysis as they develop new recipes. Compass One has already shifted 132 recipes from the D-E range up to A-C. At the University of Sussex, Foodsteps carbon data underpins the Sussex Saver - a £2 plant-based meal showing just 0.20kg CO2e per serving versus 1.31kg for the equivalent chicken dish.

The long-term target: 70% of Compass's live recipes rated A or B by 2040. That target is anchored to the Foodsteps carbon rating methodology.

“Our partnership with Foodsteps continues to strengthen our ability to understand the carbon impact of the food we serve and to support chefs in designing lowercarbon menus without compromising on quality, nutrition or customer satisfaction.”

Owned at the top

CEO Robin Mills writes the foreword himself, and with real candour. He's honest that the timeline to net zero has shifted from 2030 to 2040 - not as a retreat, but as a reflection of what five years of genuine learning has taught them about the scale and complexity of the task.

Incentives: Food waste reduction was tied to executive remuneration in FY25. In one year, Compass delivered an 8% reduction. When sustainability performance affects pay, it changes behaviour. That's not a communications strategy - that's organisational commitment.

Why this matters

The food sector accounts for roughly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Businesses of Compass's scale have both the responsibility and the power to drive meaningful change. What this report demonstrates is that it is possible to run a growing, commercially competitive business while genuinely reducing environmental impact - but only if sustainability is built into the architecture of how you operate, not bolted on afterwards.

We're proud to be a partner to Compass and Foodbuy on that journey. And we're excited about what comes next.

Foodsteps helps food businesses measure and reduce their environmental impact across the supply chain. We work with Compass Group UK & Ireland across recipe carbon analysis, the Net Zero Pipeline of initiatives to decarbonise, carbon reduction playbooks, and Scope 3 emissions reporting.