Bath’s Marlborough Tavern gastropub has started its journey towards net zero emissions by partnering with two major organisations that help businesses go green.
The pub, pictured, in Marlborough Buildings, has teamed up with Net Zero Now and The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) as it strives to reduce its overall carbon footprint.
Joe Cussens, managing director of The Bath Pub Company – which owns The Marlborough Tavern and three other venues in the city – was inspired after seeing a presentation from Net Zero Now at a conference.
Having already been awarded a Green Energy Grant, which has helped towards installing a new induction kitchen, pictured below, he hopes to apply the lessons learned from The Marlborough Tavern to the other pubs in his portfolio.
Net Zero Now works with industry bodies, thought leaders and key players – including in the hospitality industry – to create a range of sector-specific, industry-standard methodologies for reaching net zero that are rooted in science.
The Sustainable Restaurant Association, which has top chefs Raymond Blanc OBE and Dame Prue Leith as its president and vice-president respectively, has a mission to “bring together progressive people working in food and empower them to change the system faster”.
Joe said the two bodies had developed a framework and support package to help pubs navigate the path to net zero.
“Firstly, they help you calculate your current total carbon footprint; you then undertake a comprehensive review of your business using a tool and guidance they’ve developed,” he said.
“At this point, I don’t know how long it will take us to become carbon neutral, or how much it will cost us.
“I’m certainly not holding ourselves up as paragons of virtue – we are currently nowhere near where we need to be; but at least we’ve started that journey.
“The important part is now to follow through. Having support and guidance from Net Zero and SRA, is invaluable – it makes you believe that something you thought wasn’t possible, might be.”
The Bath Pub Company’s other venues are The Hare & Hounds on Lansdown Road, the Locksbrook Inn in Lower Weston and The Moorfields in Oldfield Park.
