Footprint Further is a practical sustainability training programme for the UK foodservice and hospitality sector, developed by Footprint Media Group in partnership with Robin Sundaram, drawing on his decades of senior supply-chain and sustainability leadership in the food industry. It is designed to help people build confidence in making better sustainability-related decisions when margins are tight, trade-offs are real and time is limited.
Rather than focusing on theory or compliance, Footprint Further concentrates on how sustainability shows up in day-to-day commercial and operational choices – from procurement and supply chains to operations, customer expectations and risk. The programme is grounded in the realities of UK foodservice, acknowledging the pressures of labour costs, energy, inflation and customer demands, and the fact that decisions are often made with imperfect information.
Footprint Further is for professionals across foodservice and hospitality who influence sustainability outcomes but may not have sustainability as their sole role. It brings together people from different organisations in a non-competitive environment, creating a shared understanding of the challenges and helping participants leave with clearer judgement, better questions and more confidence in the decisions they make.
Introduction for senior leaders
Footprint Further is a UK-specific sustainability training programme designed for senior leaders and decision-makers in foodservice and hospitality. It recognises that sustainability choices are rarely made in isolation – they are shaped by commercial pressure, operational constraints, customer expectations and risk.
Rather than prescribing solutions, the programme helps leaders sharpen their judgement, understand where sustainability truly matters to their business, and make more informed trade-offs when priorities collide. The focus is on clarity, credibility and practical decision-making, grounded in how the sector actually operates.
Objectives of Footprint Further
The core objectives are to:
- Build confidence, not just knowledge
Help participants feel more capable making sustainability decisions when data is imperfect and pressures are high. - Translate sustainability into commercial reality
Frame ESG topics through the lens of margin pressure, operational constraints, customer demands, and risk – not abstract ambition. - Create practical decision-makers
Focus on what people will do differently next week, not just what they understand better. - Support consistency across the sector
Establish a shared baseline of understanding and language across operators, suppliers, and service providers, without forcing a single “right answer”. - Avoid the ‘inspired but stuck’ trap
Ensure learning leads to changed conversations, better questions, and more informed trade-offs even when full solutions aren’t immediately possible.
What makes it different?
Footprint Further is deliberately
- UK-specific (regulation, labour pressures, margins, procurement realities)
- Role-aware (acknowledging that a finance lead, buyer, ops manager and sustainability lead face very different constraints)
- Honest about uncertainty (not everything is measurable or solved)
- Light-touch and time-respectful (designed for busy professionals, not consultants-in-residence)
It is not about long projects, heavy frameworks, or compliance exercises, but about better judgement.
Target audience
Footprint Further is aimed at:
- Foodservice and hospitality professionals across:
- Contract catering
- Hospitality and leisure
- QSR and branded chains
- Key suppliers and service providers – manufacturers, brand owners, distributors
- Roles typically include:
- Sustainability & ESG leads
- Procurement & supply chain
- Operations & site leadership
- Commercial & category teams
- Senior managers who influence decisions but don’t “own” sustainability
- Experience level:
- Early- to mid-career professionals building confidence
- Senior leaders wanting a sharper, more grounded view of sustainability trade-offs in the sector
Importantly, participants often come from different organisations, so the programme is designed to be non-competitive, non-confidential, and highly transferable.
Footprint Further Sustainability Training for Foodservice
UK-specific sustainability training for food service, grounded in commercial reality and operational delivery.
UK Food Service Context – Detailed View
| Theme | Summary | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Profit margins | Ultra-thin margins shape every decision | • Independent restaurants: 1–3% • Contract catering: 2–4% • Pubs: 1–3% • Quick Service / chains: 3–6% (best-in-class) • Many UK operators operate at sub-2% margins post-COVID • Labour, energy, rent and business rates weigh heavily Training implication: sustainability choices are made weekly or daily under margin pressure. |
| Commercial pressures | UK-specific cost and operating pressures | • National Living Wage increases • Employer NI contributions • Apprenticeship levy complexity • Energy cost volatility (post-2022) • Business rates (UK-specific) • High dependency on agency labour Sustainability initiatives must: • Reduce cost • Reduce risk • Protect contracts • Protect reputation |
| Supply chain reality | Distributor-led and import dependent | • Heavy reliance on UK broadline distributors: – Brakes – Bidfood – Sysco – Booker (independents) • Limited direct farm relationships • High import reliance (produce, seafood, ambient) UK vulnerabilities: • Weather volatility • Post-Brexit labour shortages • Border friction • GBP exposure • Animal disease risks Training implication: resilience and availability matter as much as ethics. |
| Retail vs food service | Why farm-to-fork thinking must change | Retail: • Centralised buying • Long-term contracts • Label-based sustainability • Strong regulation Food service: • Fragmented buying • Short-term sourcing • Menu & behaviour-based sustainability • Uneven regulation Key insight: in the UK, sustainability in food service is driven by contracts, not consumers. |
| Regulation & culture | License to operate dynamics | Pressure via: • Public sector contracts (NHS, schools, universities) • Client sustainability requirements • Waste regulation (Duty of Care, food waste separation) • Modern slavery expectations • Scope 3 reporting creep Cultural reality: • ‘Get the job done’ mindset • Low tolerance for abstract ESG • Must work on a Friday night service • Must not increase paperwork |
1. ESG & Sustainability for Senior Leaders
| Module | Focus | Detail & Implications |
|---|---|---|
| UK sustainability landscape | Leadership context | • Sustainability driven by bids, tenders and contracts • Government, Public sector and B2B client pressure • Sustainability as licence to operate and risk management – how can their business become more resilient to things like climate change? |
| Trade-offs under margin pressure | Executive decision-making | • Cost vs ambition • Pace vs credibility • Focus vs dilution • Understanding what ‘good enough’ looks like in UK food service |
| Leadership decision rights | Clarity and prioritisation | • What leaders should lead centrally • The importance of sustainability when it comes to talent acquisition and retention • The role that employees play as ambassadors for the company |
2. ESG Foundations for Food Service
| Module | Focus | Detail & Implications |
|---|---|---|
| ESG through meals & service | Foundations | • What is sustainability? ESG and definitions • Environmental / social / economic The impact of the food industry on the above |
| Food waste & resources | Operational reality | • Food waste – the big picture • WRAP and Guardians of Grub principles • What is realistically achievable on site |
| People & supply chains | UK context | • The human rights picture, including labour rights • Ethical sourcing and modern slavery expectations • Distributor-led, import-dependent supply chains |
3. Role-Based ESG Workshops
| Modules | Focus |
|---|---|
| Role-specific decisions | Application by function |
| Cross-functional decision making | Commercial reality |
| Data under pressure | Decision-making |
4. Sustainability Pathways in UK Food Service
| Theme | Summary | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Reality of sustainability roles | Career clarity | • Most roles are not labelled ‘sustainability’ • Current roles that contain elements of sustainability across all functions |
| Entry routes & experience | Practical pathways | • Supplier pilots via distributors |
| Future direction | Where the industry is going | • Professionalisation of sustainability • Integration into procurement and operations • Stronger link to supply chain resilience |
5. Field to Plate: The UK Food Service System
| Theme | Summary | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| How the system works | End-to-end understanding | • UK farming, imports and seasonality • Role of wholesalers and distributors • Where control exists and where it doesn’t |
| UK-specific trade-offs | System tensions | • British vs imported • Seasonal vs customer expectations • Cost vs food waste • Speed vs ethical sourcing |
| Simulation game | Experiential learning | • Stock levels Vs Customer Service • Total Delivered Cost • Causes of volatility in supply and demand • Why people behave as they do in the supply chain |
