Caterers, foodservice and hospitality companies enjoyed positive PR from committing to source ‘better chicken’ but none look set to meet their 2026 target. By David Burrows.
The Chicken Track report published this week by Compassion in World Farming assesses how food businesses committed to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) are doing. For those short of time the short answer is: terribly.
BCC is a “comprehensive set of science-based criteria that will, when used as a complete package, significantly improve the lives of millions of chickens reared for food”, according to CIWF. Dozens of companies, caterers, restaurants, supermarkets and manufacturers have committed to meet all the criteria by 2026. This spans the UK, Europe and global markets.
Some are getting there, many are not, and some are yet to even report on progress. Foodservice seems to have a particular problem with poultry welfare (which Footprint has long reported on). Last week, before CIWF’s results, I came across Compass Group UK&I’s update – published in advance of Chicken Track going live but not in time for it to be included in the final report. None of the caterer’s chicken is yet from the slower-growing breeds that CIWF and others are desperate to see become mainstream.
Indeed, skim through the Chicken Track report and it’s clear that companies are making decent progress in terms of criteria around enrichment and natural light. Nando’s has got to 100% on both those benchmarks. Breed change and lowering stocking density are a different story: none of Nando’s chicken is yet from slower growing breeds reared at lower stocking densities.
These are certainly the two most challenging production criteria to meet – as KFC’s recent U-turn on its commitment proved (KFC UK&I has managed to shift 0.7% of its chicken to slower-growing breeds and is at 5.8% on stocking density). However, ignoring them like many seem to have done, or deciding they are ‘too hard’, is a bit like focusing only on scopes 1 and 2 of your greenhouse gas emissions. Accor, notably, has got to 16% chicken from slower-growing breeds – but for the leader to be so far off target is a damning indictment of interest and investment in this initiative, and leaves us beholden to a hyper-intense, industrial supply chain.
At Burger King UK none of the chicken is yet from slower-growing breeds for example; Subway appears to be on zero too, as are Domino’s, Papa Johns, TGI Fridays, The Big Table and Yo!. Just 1% of Greggs’ chicken is from slower-growing breeds, though it has got to 65% on the BCC stocking density standard. On breeds, Aramark managed 1% in 2024, with a target for 5% this year and 25% next.
Elior isn’t yet reporting figures. Neither are Azzurri, Chipotle, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Prezzo or Sodexo. Even Ikea, often held up as a sustainable sourcing leader, is struggling: reporting its overall transition (meeting all criteria) as 3%. The latest compliance figures are embarrassing for the sector. Let’s not forget that many, if not all, of these companies enjoyed positive PR when they signed up to BCC (most, a number of years ago).
This really is a fowl day for foodservice.
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