Sustainability

Benugo is committed to being as sustainable as we possibly can across all aspects of our business and reduce our impact on climate and nature. We’re striving to make better choices in everything we do and are constantly updating our policies in line with this.

In 2023 we launched our ESG strategy, Second Nature. Underpinned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Second Nature is a roadmap of our actions to successfully manage our environmental and social impacts. Our goal is to significantly reduce our carbon emissions to become carbon net zero for all emission scopes by 2040.

Carbon Labelling

We need a sustainable food system to combat climate change and improve our health and that of the planet. By 2050, an estimated 10 billion people will live on Earth. For the sake of our planet, the recommendation is that the food that we each eat produces no more than the equivalent of 2.3 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions a day.

There is a lot of discussion about what sustainable eating looks like. It can make choosing what we eat confusing, since it can be hard to understand what is both healthy for us and good for the planet.

The carbon labelling that you will see on our bakery, grab & go and restaurant menus show the impact your food choices have on our environment. That said, we can only do our best — it is our eating habits over time that will help save the planet.

What do the labels mean?

A – Super climate-friendly choice.
B –The planet will thank you.
C – Good sustainable effort.
D – Balance is key, try to make sure you are getting your grains, fruit and vegetables in.
E – Everyone deserves a treat, so enjoy! Just aim for moderation.

There are many ways to eat to support our planet, including:

Choosing seasonal and local foods
Eating more plant-based meals
Being mindful of portion sizes
Minimising food waste
Shopping smart: always have a list prepared
Trying to choose products with minimal packaging

Learn how we can all work together to make our food more sustainable here.

The Counter at the John Lewis Oxford Street Benugo

Benugo reusable water bottles

Our beautifully branded water bottles are made from 100% recycled aluminium and are 100% recyclable.

They are bottled at source on protected land in Herefordshire and filled with pure spring water.

Weighing just 60 grams and made using 100% recycled aluminium, each bottle produces a fraction of the CO2 emissions of standard aluminium products. This means it requires up to 95% less energy to produce than standard aluminium bottles and cans. You can read more about this here.

Refilling them just 10 times avoids 170g of plastic waste and 790g of CO2 emissions. This is based on an average PET bottle weighing 17 grams and needing 79 g of CO2 to create each bottle, a number that is actually quite conservative.

There is a large range of data available regarding the CO2 footprint of plastic bottles and it varies considerably by study, weight of bottle, mix of RPET and PET and type of energy the factory uses to create the bottle. The current data shows the CO2 footprint as 6.6kg per kg of PET, putting a 17g bottle at 120g of CO2 – much higher than the 79g quoted on our bottles.

Your Benugo bottle has been designed to be reused an infinite number of times. In order to prolong the life of your bottle, please fill with cool water only and always handwash. When you have no further use for it, don’t forget to recycle!

Benugo Infinitely reusable water bottles

Sustainability Snapshot

Our coffee is 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified. We have chosen this certification as, in addition to trading fairly with local farmers, it also takes the planet into consideration.
At all of our sites we offer plant-based milk alternatives free of charge to encourage more frequent use.
We use Islands hot chocolate, made from the finest flavour cocoa on their farms in St Vincent and partner farms in the Dominican Republic. Islands have a a zero-tolerance policy to child labour, slavery and deforestation across their farms. This is chocolate made with conscience.
In addition to working with UK Red Tractor our milk options are entirely UK sourced and a third is accredited organic.
All our scoop serve ice cream is made by B-Corp registered, family-owned businesses with milk sourced from UK dairies and with full farm to cone/tub traceability.
96% of our fresh eggs are UK RSPCA Assured free-range. Every Benugo manufactured products, from our cakes to our sandwich fillings are made with UK free-range eggs.
We put a focus on UK sourced foods that align with seasonal availability, such as British potatoes which are available all year round, compared to strawberries which we use in their season.
Benugo’s chocolate partner, Tony’s Chocolonely, are focused on changing the chocolate industry by making 100% slave-free the norm.
We work with Life Water. Through their charity, Drop4Drop, to date we have funded 65 clean water projects, providing 52,127 people with clean water.
We weigh and record food waste (production, plate and spoilage) in our cafes. Ongoing measurement of this will have a significant impact on reducing emissions.
Our sandwich packaging contains cellulose. Cellulose is a certified bioplastic, made from a plant-based polymer derived from cotton or wood pulp.
We have access to Sievo, a system in which we can precisely monitor our carbon emissions in our food supply chain. This allows us to target the challenging areas of our supply chain and implement emission reducing solutions.
We encourage reusable cup use, offering hot drinks at a discounted price to further the move from disposables.
All our grab & go and bakery ranges have a carbon count displayed, allowing customers to see the impact of their food to help inform decision making.
We use Islands hot chocolate, made from the finest flavour cocoa on their farms in St Vincent and partner farms in the Dominican Republic. Islands have a a zero-tolerance policy to child labour, slavery and deforestation across their farms. This is chocolate made with conscience.