Doing More To Be Proud Of
Our commitment to being a responsible and sustainable business by adopting a People and Planet positive approach for all our stakeholders, including our people, suppliers, pub partners, guests and the communities we serve.
Our commitment to being a responsible and sustainable business by adopting a People and Planet positive approach for all our stakeholders, including our people, suppliers, pub partners, guests and the communities we serve.The main way in which we do this is through our ‘Doing more to be proud of’ initiative which focuses on four core pillars: Planet, People, Product & Policy. Each of the four pillars connect to the core of what we do in our business, and where we believe we can make the biggest impact. The People and Planet-positive practices, policies and targets are underpinned by strong Policy – that is good governance.
To find out more, you can download our Insight Report by clicking the link below. Our Insight Report is a statement of our aims, targets and intentions, and shines a light on our focus areas and where we think we can improve!
Doing more for...
For our most fragile stakeholder, we want to operate our business and supply chain more efficiently to reduce our energy consumption, emissions and use of precious natural resources like water. We also want to reduce our impact on the environment by reducing or repurposing our waste and encourage our suppliers to do the same.
Our PLANET promise to be proud of: To operate our business and supply chain more efficiently to reduce our energy consumption, emissions and water use. To reduce our impact on the environment by reducing or repurposing our waste and encourage our suppliers to do the same.
Installation of solar at our Head Office in Wolverhampton
At Marston’s, we're committed to reducing our carbon footprint and embracing renewable energy solutions. That's why we've recently partnered with Nuvolt, a pioneer in low carbon technology solutions, for the installation of solar panels at St Johns House, our Head Office. These solar panels are not just a symbol of our dedication to the environment; they're a practical step towards a greener future. Annually, they'll generate a staggering 88.73MWh of clean energy, slashing carbon emissions from our all-electric office building by 17.16 tons.
We're also rolling out solar panels across a selection of our pubs. Already, these solar panels across our buildings have generated 23,055 kWh of clean energy, saving a remarkable 5,184 kg of carbon emissions.
We’re a BII Sustainability Champion!
St Johns House, our head office in Wolverhampton, has been awarded Sustainability Champion status by the British Institute of Innkeeping. We are proud to be recognised for the sustainability measures we’ve implemented as part its refurbishment in 2023.
St Johns House is entirely electric, including our two electric training kitchens. We’ve recently installed solar panels, which will generate 20% of the building’s energy usage. Outside in the carpark - as well as at some of our pubs - you'll find EV car charging points, encouraging and supporting our team members and guests to travel electric.
As a leading company within the hospitality industry, it is vital that we take responsibility for caring for our Planet!
Our EV charging infrastructure
We are proud to have the biggest private network of electric vehicle chargers in hospitality. We now have over 430 EV chargers across 190 of our pubs and 5 have fast charging hubs. The most recent being the Fallowfield in Telford.
Our charging network has been responsible for over 64 million miles travelled by electric vehicles, saving a whopping 12.5 million kg of CO2. More details of our EV journey can be found in our Insight Report.
Cooking oil
As well as our kitchen teams receiving training ensure the right amount of oil is used in our kitchens to reduce the amount of waste, any used cooking oil is collected by our partner, Olleco, who repurpose it into biodiesel, which is a fuel source with a lower carbon impact than traditional fossil or mineral fuels. This enables us to reduce or remove used oil from our food waste and contribute to reduced emissions by supporting the production of lower carbon fuels.
At Marston’s, People Make Pubs. We embrace the diversity of our employees, our guests and our local pub communities and strive to provide equitable opportunities for growth and social mobility. We want to create an inclusive culture that engages and inspires, and work with charitable partners that share our core values.
Our PEOPLE promise to be proud of: To create a culture of engagement, support and development that attracts, retains and supports the best people from diverse backgrounds. To support our people to ‘come as you are’ by building an inclusive culture among our employees, pub partners and suppliers which reflects the diversity of our guests and communities.
Here’s where we are making progress on our promise...
Excel
Our Excel programme has been created to support people leaving custody to obtain new skills and find employment in one of our pubs. We recruit to fixed criteria ensuring the safety of our teams and our guests and, since 2022, we have recruited ex-offenders all over England and Wales from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and helped them on their way to a career in the hospitality sector into a variety of roles from Sales & Service to Head Chef.
In 2023, we were extremely proud to open ‘The Lock Inn’ which is our dedicated training facility inside HMP Liverpool. The Lock Inn has been converted to look and feel like a Marston’s kitchen and we run a 13 week Chef course up to 4 times a year to train a cohort of 10 men to chef Level 1 (CDP skillset) with a guaranteed job offer in a Marston’s pub for those who complete it.
Marston’s Charitable Foundation
Marston’s Charitable Foundation scheme enables our employees to donate directly from their pay, to support causes close to the hearts of our pubs and their local communities. We encourage as many people as possible to contribute so we can complement other fundraising and help ensure that smaller, local charities and causes have access to support, particularly during the tough economic climate.
Our partnership with the Armed Forces
In February this year, we celebrated our partnership with the Armed Forces with Justin Platt, our Chief Executive Officer, committing our support to veterans, Armed Forces personnel, and their families by re-signing the Armed Forces Covenant. As part of the event, some of our chefs also battled it out against a team of Armed Forces chefs in a cooking competition, cooking up a storm in the kitchen and presenting a judging panel with a three-course meal.
We are pleased to have been awarded the Silver Award from the Defence Employers Recognition Scheme and are working towards achieving the Gold Award, through driving engagement with the Armed Forces and offering employment opportunities, as part of our People promise target.
Marston’s is proud to support those who serve our country in the Armed Forces and provide a warm welcome in our pubs once they leave the forces, may that be as guests or through new employment opportunities in our teams.
Best Mental Health in the Workplace Strategy
In March, we were honoured to be awarded ‘Best Mental Health in the Workplace Strategy’ at Hospitality’s Mental Health Heroes 2024, hosted by the The Burnt Chef Project.
We’re incredibly proud that our mental health strategy has been commended, as we continue to improve and evolve mental health support for our people. Everyone at Marston’s has access to support tools and wellbeing materials, including an Employee Assistance Programme with AXA and relationship and support counselling with the Licensed Trade Charity. We also continue to partner with the Burnt Chef Project, providing our people with further resources, and supporting the Burnt Chef Project’s wider initiatives.
Our mental health strategy is also supported by the Balance Network, one of our employee-led inclusion groups. The Balance Network empowers everyone to find their balance through good health and wellbeing, providing space for people to open up and support their co-workers.
Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion is central to our core values and our People Pillar. We are committed to promoting an inclusive environment that represents many different backgrounds, cultures and points of view and will always strive to reflect the communities we serve.
Our Diversity and Inclusion strategy was launched in 2023, encapsulating our objective of wanting Marston’s to be a place where our teams:
- Relate to, feel represented by, and trust each other
- Feel valued and supported
- Feel involved in the bigger picture
- Are appreciated as individuals
- Communicate openly, have a voice, and are listened to
Mental Health training for our people
We partner with The Burnt Chef Project to deliver mental health awareness and resilience training to our people. Through this partnership, we are challenging the stigma associated with mental health in the hospitality industry. We are committed to providing a better environment for everyone by equipping line managers with the skills needed to have better conversations around mental health and to recognise signs of stress. It is essential for all our colleagues to have someone helping them when in need.
The Burnt Chef Project is not for profit so relies heavily on public donations. As part of the launch of our new partnership, thirty colleagues across Marston’s took part in a fundraiser skydive. They raised over £13,000 for a project that is close to their hearts. The money raised will go directly towards the efforts to educate, train, and support the thousands of hospitality colleagues battling with poor mental health so that, together, we can build a healthier, happier and sustainable hospitality profession.
Our network groups
We want to ensure that the food and drink that we source to serve to our guests in our pubs has as little impact on the planet as possible. We also have our guests interests in mind when we provide information about the dishes we serve, helping to support them make choices based on health or lifestyle.
Our PRODUCT promise to be proud of: To be proud of our Plates by delivering quality food & drink which is ethically sourced and in a way which reduces food waste and emissions.
Reducing food waste
We are proud to have partnered with Too Good to Go (TGTG), an app-based solution to food waste, selling surplus food to consumers that would otherwise have been thrown away at a reduced price. We have introduced TGTG in the majority of our carvery sites.
As well as providing a valuable social service, TGTG is helping us to meet our goal of reducing our food waste by 50% by 2030, and our carbon emissions.
Food Supplier Charter
Our guests have a right to expect a high level of diligence in the sourcing of goods, products and services. Our food charter sets out our expectations on quality of product, traceability of ingredients, ethical approach, sustainable sourcing and associated labour practices. The Charter conveys our expectations for suppliers to reduce their own environmental impact by minimising unnecessary packaging and choosing recyclable materials, wherever possible.
The way in which we do business is embedded into our governance framework which is communicated to our people and partners by pragmatic policies that reflect our ethics and values. We ensure these are effectively communicated, progressively encouraged and monitored for effectiveness.
Our POLICY Promise to be Proud of: To support the development of our business in delivering its objectives by promoting high standards of governance, risk management and transparency.
Our People Handbook
Through our digital handbook, we provide a living document to inform our team members on our strategy, behavioural framework, People Promise, career information and policies. All our policies are within the handbook, written and laid out in an engaging and consistent format. Recognising that “People make Pubs” the handbook is people friendly with accessibility options. The book is tailored to the roles in the business, so that the reader knows that it includes what is relevant to their own role. Links to some our the polices contained within the handbook are included below.
Drinkaware
Marston’s is a corporate donor to the charity Drinkaware and supports its campaigns. The Drinkaware Trust is an independent UK-wide alcohol education charity, funded largely by voluntary and unrestricted donations from UK alcohol producers, retailers and supermarkets. The Trust is governed independently and works in partnership with others to help reduce alcohol-related harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. More information can be found on the Drinkaware website.
Our policies reflect our ethics and values and we the way in which we conduct our business.
See below for links to some of our value-based policies for more information.