Foodhouse Sustainability Commitments

OCS has an established long term record of environmental and ethical concern. The company’s environmental plan involves accreditation across the Group in the UK to ISO14001.

OCS Just Deli Water and ‘Wells for India’: together with supplier Radnor Hills, OCS has created a 500ml bottle of either sparkling or still mineral water, which will be on sale at City Hall and in the Café, branded Just Deli in a recyclable plastic bottle. For every bottle of this water sold 5p is donated to a charity in Rajasthan in India called ‘Wells for India’ which provides clean drinking water and sanitation to a group of remote villages in Rajasthan.

OCS has been an enthusiastic partner in the Fairtrade Foundation for many years and provides a range of Fairtrade products such as beverages, confectionery, fruit and vegetables within City Hall. OCS has championed Fair Trade since 1992 offering an increasing range of products using the fair trade accreditation. Through beverage supplier Tchibo, OCS launched Vista a 100% fairly traded coffee and tea offer with strong integrity and traceability.

OCS provides Costa Coffee. Since 2008, Costa has served coffee purchased from the Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The Rainforest Alliance is a non government organisation that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour.

Sustainable Food Procurement: OCS aims to meet the consumer’s needs whilst improving overall economic efficiencies, safeguarding the environment and bringing about social benefits. As part of the selection criteria suppliers must practice good environmental procedures and provide a statement to this effect. To achieve these aims OCS has a nominated suppliers list which enables the company to offer a diverse range, as well as Fairtrade and organic alternatives.

Partnerships with British producers and 'Eat Britain' make a positive contribution to the British food industry through local sourcing policies: and by back hauling where possible, an overall reduction in food miles is achieved. Some suppliers already use electric and hybrid powered vehicles for inner city deliveries.

Food supply objectives and initiatives: include reducing consumption of utilities such as energy, water and sanitation; promotion of ethical trading and sustainability to minimise environmental impact; effective use of resources to reduce wastage and maximise use of recycled material.

OCS has an established track record of using widely recognised and respected food assurance schemes: since 2003, all OCS’ tuna has been dolphin friendly and line caught. OCS has made Red Tractor for raw meat (The Red Tractor is a food assurance scheme which covers production standards developed by experts on safety, hygiene, animal welfare and the environment) core standard for all raw meat procurement across the company. All OCS eggs are already Lion Brand 100% British. Clients are encouraged to use free range eggs rather than those from caged birds. OCS aims to obtain 50% of its eggs from free range sources by 2010. The company supplies organic products in every Soil Association Approval and Other Organic Marques category.

Many OCS units have their own herb gardens in pots to ensure a supply of fresh herbs from April to October at a fraction of the cost, and with no distribution.

OCS minimises the use of packaging by serving food direct ready to eat to customers. All beverage cups and materials for the company’s chosen coffee brands Costa and Vista are 100% bio-degradable. Over 70% of Just Deli packaging is already made of bio-degradable recycled materials. 100% of OCS packaging is made of bio-degradable recycled materials.

Customers are encouraged to use re-usable insulated coffee mugs to reduce waste and where possible tap water is provided for hospitality in re-usable bottles made from 70% recycled glass.

OCS’ waste management strategy encourages staff, contractors and suppliers to rethink the processes which create waste, to reduce the amount of waste produced, to make better use of the waste that is produced and minimise the risks of immediate and future environmental pollution and harm to human health

OCS believes that the key element of environmental initiatives is education of staff. By creating a culture where recycling becomes second nature to staff, effective waste management can take place.

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