After meeting with Treasury, Association says foodservice industry needs to work together to force government to take notice
CESA, the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association, had a meeting with officials from the Treasury on September 4th to discuss climate change and carbon reduction commitments. Glen Roberts, managing director of Gram UK, represented CESA and gave a presentation on the disconnection between the current level of incentives for buyers of equipment, the practical reality of the foodservice market, and the government’s stated objectives.
"The government has challenged our industry to reduce its carbon footprint, but has not developed the vehicle that could help us achieve its targets," says Roberts.
At the heart of the issue is the government’s Energy Technology List (ETL). Equipment can only be included in the ETL if it is shown to be energy efficient – and buyers who select equipment from the list qualify for significant financial and tax benefits. So the ETL is the perfect vehicle to help industry achieve a significant reduction in its carbon footprint. However, the only category of catering equipment on the ETL is refrigeration and, infuriatingly, adding new categories is taking years – despite strong calls for action from CESA and other lobbyists.
"The ETL could make a huge impact, but we are wasting time waiting for the government to get its act together," says Roberts. "On the one hand we have many manufacturers investing a huge amount of their resources into developing energy-saving equipment. On the other, cheap, energy-hungry models are still being imported and sold into the foodservice market. It’s a ridiculous situation and the government needs to act, and act now."
The Treasury representatives promised to circulate CESA’s views to ministers and have committed the Treasury to further meetings. But Roberts is not filled with optimism. "The meeting was important from the point of view of opening discussions. But given our experiences of the way the government moves, it’s likely to be a small first step on a very long road."
He adds: "We all support the objective of reducing the catering industry’s carbon footprint. The government should be supporting our efforts – but that requires someone with influence to grasp this hot potato. The whole foodservice industry needs to work together to raise the issue, individuals as well as associations like CESA, by contacting ministers and MPs. We have to raise our profile if we’re to achieve change."
The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA) represents over 130 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment – from utensils to full kitchen schemes. For more information on CESA visit www.cesa.org.uk