Independent contract caterer Bartlett Mitchell has become the first contract catering company to receive a Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) accreditation.
The silver accreditation, for its site at Autodesk in Farnborough, recognises the steps taken by the caterer to develop the unit's sustainability credentials.
Sally Grimes, quality manager for Bartlett Mitchell, said: "It's fantastic to be the first contractor to achieve this accreditation and we're now actively working on accreditation for our head office."
Andrea Nicholas, manager for GTBS, explained the accreditation came about after collaboration with Bartlett Mitchell when the caterer volunteered to become a pilot project.
She said: "They did very well in their assessment. Green Tourism's accreditation is all about measuring the practical steps that organisations have taken to improve their sustainability credentials; measures that make a real impact and not just woolly intentions."
Wendy Bartlett, managing director of Bartlett Mitchell, added: "As a company, we're always looking for ways to improve our green credentials. We felt there was a big opportunity to practically demonstrate how we were doing and the GTBS accreditation fitted the bill perfectly. This is a great achievement for the team."
She added the group and GTBS were keen to build on this first step, working together and with other contractors to get more uptake of the scheme across the contract catering sector.
The GTBS scheme currently focuses mainly on commercial hospitality businesses such as hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions and therefore, for contract caterers who operate on clients' premises, some criteria were adjusted to make it appropriate and challenging for the contract catering sector.
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By Emily Manson
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