The Sustainability Questions You Should Be Asking Your London Caterer
Office managers don't just choose a caterer anymore, they vet one. It's not just about the food either. Sustainability is now one of the first things businesses want reassurance on. If sustainability sits anywhere in your brief, here are the questions worth asking before you sign off on a supplier.
Quick answer: ask a London caterer four things before you sign off: how they manage packaging, where the food comes from, how they handle food waste, and whether they can back it up with numbers, not just intentions.
If you're still comparing suppliers more broadly, our guide on how to choose an office caterer in London covers the wider vetting process, of which sustainability is one part.
1. What Happens to the Packaging After the Food Is Gone?
"Eco-friendly packaging" often isn't as eco-friendly as it's made out to be. Here are the questions to ask to get a full understanding of how friendly it actually is to the planet.
Is the packaging genuinely compostable, or just labelled that way with no local facility that can actually process it? London's compostable waste streams are inconsistent borough to borough, so "compostable" packaging with nowhere to go often ends up in general waste anyway.
Does the caterer take packaging back, or is your office left to sort it?
Are reusable options, trays, crockery, urns, available for regular orders or recurring service, rather than defaulting to single-use for every booking?
A caterer with a real answer here will have a full story of what happens to the waste, from the food itself through to what it arrives in and is served on.
2. Where Does the Food Come From?
Sourcing claims are easy to make and hard to verify unless you ask directly.
Can they name suppliers and verify what they mean by locally sourced and grown produce?
Do they work with local producers, and can they quantify that?
How do they handle meat and dairy sourcing specifically, given these tend to carry the largest carbon footprint on a catering menu?
The difference between "we care about sourcing" and "here's our supplier list and how we chose them" is usually the difference between marketing and practice.
3. What's Their Food Waste Process?
Food waste is where good intentions and daily operations often diverge.
How do they forecast quantities to avoid over-ordering in the first place?
What happens to unavoidable surplus? Is there a redistribution partnership with a local charity or food-waste organisation, or does it go straight in the bin?
Do they track waste volumes, and will they share that data with you?
If a caterer has never measured their own food waste, they can't tell you whether it's improving.
4. Can They Show You Numbers, Not Just Intentions?
This is the question that separates a caterer with a sustainability page from one with a sustainability practice.
Do they measure and report carbon emissions associated with their catering, even at a basic level (delivery transport, ingredient sourcing, energy use in preparation)?
Can they provide any documentation that reflects your own office's sustainability values?
Are they working towards, or already holding, any recognised certification or accreditation?
For many office managers, this is now the crux of the brief. It's more important than ever to understand what actually makes catering sustainable, because that's how you know whether your business is following through on its own values, not just stating them. If cost is part of that conversation too, our guide on the true cost of office catering in London is a useful companion read, since sustainable sourcing is often a factor in how pricing is structured.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sustainability questions should I ask a caterer before booking? Ask about packaging (whether it's genuinely compostable and where it actually goes), food sourcing (named suppliers and seasonality), food waste process (forecasting and surplus redistribution), and whether they can back any of it up with data.
Is compostable packaging always genuinely eco-friendly? Not necessarily. Compostable packaging only works if there's a local facility able to process it. In London, compostable waste streams vary by borough, so packaging can be labelled compostable but still end up in general waste.
Can a caterer's sustainability claims be verified? The clearest sign is specificity. A caterer who can name suppliers, quantify local sourcing, and share waste or emissions data is demonstrating practice, not just intention.
Why does this matter for office managers specifically? Sustainability increasingly touches procurement decisions like catering. Being able to point to a supplier's specific sustainability practices, rather than a general claim, matters if that spend needs to reflect what the company actually values.
For more information on Arch's sustainability policies, head to archfood.uk/sustainability. Our team are always on hand to answer any questions you may have, get in touch at info@archfood.uk.
