Across the day, one theme stood out: If it is to be embedded in organisations, sustainability must be good for business as well as for the planet.

Here are our top six takeaways:

1. Sustainability is a business issue

Delivering his keynote, Henry Dimbleby described the current operating environment as “one of the hardest times ever to run a restaurant - harder even than 2020”.

Against rising costs and economic pressure, sustainability is shifting from a reputational issue to a commercial one.

For hospitality, his message was clear, look at sustainability actions that help your business to reduce costs, strengthen supply chains and attract customers. This will enable you to continue to operate – and potentially improve long-term profitability.
 

2. Small changes can add up to significant benefit

Identifying practical and incremental ways to be more sustainable is critical for business right now. As Mark Chapman, CEO, Zero Carbon Forum reminded the room, while much sustainability investment focuses on infrastructure or tech, simple operational changes can often deliver faster results that are good for the planet – and your business.

Around 86% of energy reduction programmes focus on behaviour change, because improvements in day-to-day operations quickly reduce energy use and running costs in the kitchen.

Franco Fubini, CEO, Natoora, highlighted the importance of working closely with suppliers to design menus around seasonality and supply availability. Rather than treating suppliers purely as transactional partners, collaborate with them to make better use of available produce and reduce waste.

Small changes can add up to significant savings and environmental benefits.
 

3. Consumers care about sustainability, but price is a factor

According to Claire Chalmers, Chief Revenue Officer at Nutritics, 71% of consumers say they aspire to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle, and yet when choosing where to eat, the main drivers remain:

• Price
• Taste
• Experience

Sue Philips, Global ESG Lead, Ipsos agreed and referred to sustainability as a co-benefit of consumer choice. It’s important but not for all consumers and while consumers expect restaurants to behave responsibly to people and planet, it can’t be at the expense of value and good food.

This means operators need to be canny – know your audience and your business, and balance how you embed sustainability into the operations. Take a ‘double materiality’ approach that considers the financial impact on the company with the company's impact on society.
 

4. From sea to soil: Build integrity into your supply chain

Let the tide dictate the seafood menu was the message from Rachel Walker Boggis of Disco Scallops, as she, and Anthony Pender of Faber explored the practicalities of sustainable seafood.

Continually assessing the sustainability of fish and seafood on the menu is the everyday reality of running a seafood restaurant. We heard how Faber has kept mackerel on its menu, despite Waitrose’s announcement – and who wouldn’t want a sustainable Disco Scallop that has partied its way into an LED-lighted pot, rather than dredged along the ocean floor causing damage to marine habitats and species?

They told us:  

• Understand your supply chain and its impact on the planet
• Take considered decisions
• Share stories with customers so mindsets can shift

As the conversation moved from the tides to the fields, the 'What’s the beef with beef?' debate dug into how regenerative farming and smarter menu choices are reshaping perceptions of one of hospitality’s most debated ingredients. Will Beckett, CEO and co‑founder of Hawksmoor and chair of Rockfish, noted that demand for beef isn’t slowing, but the real challenge lies in serving it with integrity: delivering exceptional flavour while sourcing as ethically as possible.

Both Maria McCann, operations director at Blacklock and Alasdair Murdoch, beef farmer and CEO of Burger King UK, talked about the importance of regenerative grazing, supporting farms to return to more sustainable practices -and potentially, telling customers when they are ordering more than they need.
 

5. Storytelling is more powerful than sustainability jargon

Food writer and broadcaster Mallika Basu highlighted the gap that can exist between corporate sustainability ambitions and consumer understanding. Customers rarely connect emotionally with terms like carbon reduction or net zero, so businesses need to think about how they use them and when.

Romy Miller, CMO, Knoops, flagged an important distinction; people need to care, so your storytelling needs to be both rational around the planet and emotive to drive a personal connection to persuade consumers to open their wallets.

And Sarah Miller, MD, Green & Fortune, encouraged the audience to wear their B Corp with pride, as a useful accreditation tool to give consumers confidence that you’re doing the right thing.
 

6. Innovation is important but prioritisation is key

While all acknowledged innovation and lateral thinking are critical enablers in the current economic climate, themes around trust, cost and material return were central to this sustainability conversation.

Simon Thelwell, Strategic Director, School of Sustainable Food & Farming at Harper Adams University talked about the importance of data but also the challenges of knowing where data is going and how it is being used. A key challenge for farmers is the plurality of formats and tools being used by different customers increases the time and resource-burden for suppliers.

Put your focus in the right place. As Micaela Illy of Capdesia stated, many investors have walked away from purpose in favour of profit, so know where innovation can make a material difference. This was backed up by Tim Doubleday, CFO, Burger King UK, who cited sustainability initiatives that can deliver return within the private equity-based cycle are more likely to be supported.
 

The panel concluded:

• Know which issues are most material for your operation
• Data is critical and should underpin all your decisions
• Measure the initiatives you put in place
• Incremental change will make a difference

And so, in summary, Planet Peach 2026 was about balancing sustainability with financial performance and telling our stories better to win hearts – and open wallets.

While there is no doubt that the operating environment is tough, there was lots of encouraging debate about innovation to protect the planet’s natural resources combined with practical conversation to help hospitality operators keep moving forwards.


Planet Peach thanks its partners: Headline partner: Nutritics. Founding Partners: Zero Carbon Forum & Fleet Street. Event partners: Brakes, CEDA, Kitch, NIQ, Prestige Purchasing, Sustainable Restaurant Association and United.