Since 2023, we have partnered with Klimato in the UAE, UK&I region and France to calculate, communicate and reduce the climate impact of a wide range of our own-brand recipes and menus, using a science-based, data-driven approach.

The Klimato platform calculates the carbon footprint of recipes – providing absolute CO2e emissions and an intensity rating (A–E) for a 400g meal – alongside metrics for water use, nutrient pollution, land use and calorie and nutritional information. This gives us a comprehensive view of a dish’s environmental and health impact.

In the UAE, all Camden Food Co. and Ritazza recipes are evaluated with Klimato, and our culinary teams have embedded it into the menu development process. This followed a successful two-month pilot in 2023, where we added added carbon labels and QR codes to our menus and in-store messaging to help educate and guide our customers toward climate-smart choices. While in France, Klimato insights informed menu development for our new Réséda Café at the Grand Palais in Paris, in collaboration with two-Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx.

In the UK, Klimato data is embedded into new product and menu development processes, as well as our commercial dashboard, enabling us to track the carbon ratings of our menu items alongside customer, profitability and operational KPIs to identify win-win opportunities. These insights informed recipe and menu decisions for brands such as Soul + Grain, Upper Crust, Juniper and our casual dining bars. For example, we were able to achieve a c.15% reduction in the carbon footprint of food sold while maintaining profitability. We also introduced Klimato labels to five Soul + Grain units, supported by in-store communications materials, to help customers make informed choices. Similarly, using Klimato insights, Upper Crust achieved a 12% reduction in emissions from food sold in 2025. 

Beyond carbon labelling, we are exploring other methods to encourage climate-smart choices, such as menu design and descriptors. In another small-scale UK trial, changing the ‘featured’ dishes on the menu at our casual dining bars led to c.30% shift in sales volume from high-carbon to low- and medium-carbon options.

While we are primarily a food business, we also play a significant role in designing and constructing our cafés, bars and restaurants, with over 100 units approved for build or refurbishment in 2025.

Our Sustainable Build Standards - see timeline highlight above - are not only helping to enhance operational efficiency but have also contributed to a 51% reduction in Scope 3 capital goods emissions in 2025 from our 2019 baseline, and an 11% drop compared to 2024. 

Our property teams are actively applying circular design principles – retaining, repurposing and reusing assets – while increasing the use of local, recycled and lower-impact materials, such as paint, varnishes and adhesives that emit fewer harmful chemicals into the air. At the same time, many of our clients are also placing greater emphasis on implementing green building standards across their sites, with many certified to industry-leading schemes such as BREEAM or LEED. We work closely with our clients to advance our shared sustainability goals.

For example, in November 2023, Zayed International Airport in the UAE opened its new Terminal A, designed with sustainability at its core. The terminal achieved a 3-Pearl rating under the Estidama green building system. We aligned all units with these standards, using 90% recycled or reclaimed wood, 85% locally sourced tiles with at least 20% recycled content, and installing water-based air-conditioning, recycling extractor steam systems, and other energy-efficient equipment.

Exploring plastic-free innovations is now embedded in our packaging development process, with successful trials scaled across our markets. In 2025, 58% of our own-brand packaging volume globally contained renewable materials such as bagasse, bamboo and paper; five markets exceeded 80%. 

Following successful trials, plastic-free hot beverage lids are now standard across our own brands in France, Sweden, the UAE and the UK, with transitions underway in two additional European markets. Collectively, these changes eliminate c.12 million plastic lids each year. 

In several markets, we reformulated recipes, particularly for dressings and sauces, to remove the need for separate containers. Elsewhere, in-store self-service stations for condiments are helping to replace individual sauce sachets to reduce packaging waste. 

We are also broadening our focus beyond packaging. We continued to eliminate single-use gloves, while maintaining food safety standards. For example, efforts in Norway and Sweden alone resulted in a further reduction of nearly 775,000 gloves from use in 2025, building on the c.2.7 million eliminated globally in 2024.

Our top priority is preventing food waste from occurring in the first place. This principle is embedded across our operations, including smart ordering, efficient inventory management, thoughtful recipe design, optimised production practices and portion control. 

In the USA and Canada, for example, we have a well-established food waste reduction programme across our sites and central kitchens. This includes WasteTrax, which provides real-time waste monitoring to help our teams minimise ingredient and product waste. In addition, our inventory management system, Crunchtime, enables us to analyse menu performance and production processes across units and identify opportunities for further waste reduction.

Our ongoing rollout of SAP inventory management systems, now deployed in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, is helping to reduce food waste through more efficient inventory management through real-time data and detailed inventory analytics.

We are also exploring how AI can support waste prevention. For example, in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, we partner with AI startup foodforecast to improve production planning. By predicting sales, we can reduce both underproduction and surplus food. By the end of 2025, foodforecast was deployed in c.125 units, cutting waste by an average of c.10-25% per unit

We focus on redistributing edible surplus food via food saving apps, discounts to airport or rail staff working at the site, and donations to charities and local communities.

Discounts

Our partnership with Too Good To Go started in the Nordics in 2016, and has scaled up to cover over 800 of own brand and franchise units by the end of 2025. Together with Too Good To Go, we have saved nearly 3 million Surprise Bags from becoming waste, including c.920,000 in 2025 alone. This equates to c.3,000 tonnes of food saved and c.8,000 tonnes of CO2e avoided.

In other markets, where these app solutions are not available, we often develop our own redistribution programmes. For example, in Bahrain and Thailand, we offer promotions and targeted end-of-day pricings to reduce surplus food waste.

Donations

We partner with food poverty charities in 15 markets to collect surplus food from our units at the end of the day and redistribute to local communities, including people in need. In 2025, over 120 tonnes of surplus food were redistributed through these schemes.

Examples include Caritas in Austria, Beyond Best Before in Australia and New Zealand, Les Douches Solidaires (Community Showers) in Belgium, Food Angel in Hong Kong, Food Bank Malaysia, Saint Klara Church in Sweden, foodsharing Zürich in Switzerland, Olio in the UK and Reno Sparks Gospel Mission in the USA. In Norway, we support numerous organisations, including the Salvation Army.

In the UK, we launched a successful surplus food redistribution pilot with Olio and our client Network Rail at select own and franchise brand units in Waterloo station. We plan to expand this programme in 2025 to over 90 additional units across the UK.

Following a successful 12-week pilot with Network Rail at London Waterloo Station, we expanded our surplus food redistribution programme in 2025 in partnership with food-sharing app Olio. The initiative now operates across nearly 100 units at 34 locations in the UK. At the end of each day, our teams hand unsold food nearing expiry to Olio volunteers, who list the items on the Olio app for free collection by local communities. In 2025, the initiative helped save nearly 240,000 meals, diverting c.110 tonnes of food from becoming waste. Network Rail is also actively engaging other food and beverage providers to join the scheme.

“SSP has been instrumental in supporting Network Rail to get Olio off the ground. Working with SSP, we’ve already gone a long way to achieving our food waste goals. The challenge continues but I’m confident that by working together, we will continue to help families and local communities in need of support. A massive thank you.” Daniel Charles Head of Retail, Network Rail

Used cooking oil, when disposed of irresponsibly, blocks drains and sewers and can contaminate local water supplies. Recycling cooking oil not only prevents it ending up as waste, but also contributes to a circular economy by giving it a new life as biofuel.

By the end of 2025, 98% of our own brand units and 98% of our franchise units with fryers were sending waste cooking oil for recycling into biofuels. In total, more than one million litres of oil was recorded as recycled in 2025.

Those units not yet recycling oil are in places where there are no schemes or facilities available. In these cases, we are actively engaging with our clients to encourage their introduction.

In India, for example, 100% of our waste cooking oil in the country is recycled through the national RUCO – Repurpose Used Cooking Oil – programme and converted into biofuel. In just three months, this totalled more than 7,800 litres of waste cooking oil, helping to maintain food safety, and reduce food waste and emissions from fossil fuels.

We’re proud that we have achieved Certified Green Restaurant® sustainability certification from Green Restaurant Association (GRA) for over 200 restaurants across 23 airports in the USA.

As a result, SSP America has been named the Greenest Airport Contractor at the 2025 Green Restaurant Awards for the most Certified Green Restaurants® of any airport food service contractor for a second year. These accomplishments follows a multi year collaboration with GRA, a non-profit organisation pioneering the Green Restaurant® movement.

In our certified restaurants, our teams have implemented over 4,000 environmental steps, earning over 20,000 GreenPoints™ across seven categories, such as energy, water, waste and food. These efforts, including daily waste reduction, water conservation and energy efficiency, have significantly reduced our environmental impact while delivering operational cost savings.

“I applaud SSP America on winning the 2025 Greenest Airport Contractor Award and on their continued commitment to improving their environmental impact. SSP America’s Certified Green Restaurants® have set an example for others across North America to follow. By taking great environmental leadership in the restaurant industry, SSP America is proving it’s possible for any restaurant, food service contractor, or airport to dramatically improve their environmental footprint today.” Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the Green Restaurant Association.

“We’re thrilled to have won the Greenest Airport Contractor Award from the Green Restaurant Association for the second year. Getting more than 200 restaurants certified—the most of any airport food service contractor—is a team effort, and I’m grateful for the hard work at all 16 airports and the Support Center that made this possible. Between 2024 and 2025, this team certified more than 100 additional restaurants, and we look forward to certifying more in the months to come. I also want to thank Michael Oshman and the entire GRA team for the work that you do.” Amanda Busby, SSP America Division President, Operations