Sustainability at PizzaExpress

Sustainability

As one of the UK’s most beloved brands, we recognise our responsibility to the environment and society. Here’s what we do for our Planet, Pizza and People.

Planet

We’re going to be a Net Zero company by 2040. From working with our suppliers to reducing waste in every part of our business, here’s what we’ve done so far and what our plans are.

Our Commitment:

What is Net Zero?

Net Zero emissions means having to drive our emissions as low as possible and offsetting the remaining amount.

Why wait until 2040?

In 2015, governments all over the world signed up to the Paris Climate Agreement, which said that global economies must limit the earth’s warming to 2°C above pre-industrial times. To limit the worst environmental impacts, this needs to be limited to 1.5°C. For this to happen, companies need to reach Net Zero by 2050. We committed to this earlier and ambitious target as we recognise the need for action to happen at pace.

This is what we’ve done so far:

What we know:

Most of our greenhouse gas emissions come from our suppliers and at the farm level.

For more information on these statistics contact us.

How was this measured?

We partnered with consultants who measured our greenhouse gas emissions for a 12-month period. This was April 2019 – March 2020, the latest pre-pandemic period we could benchmark ourselves against. We used the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and multiplied our company activities against emissions factors that were supplied by the UK government, academics, and industry experts.

How we plan to be better:

Our plans include our delicious pizzas, breads, and dressings you enjoy at home, too.

Where our dressings don't come in glass bottles, the bottles contain recycled PET plastic – which has 25% less GHG emissions compared to virgin plastic.

Pizza

Since 1965, we've worked with the best ingredients we can get for our delicious pizzas.

Our passata comes from Parma, using only fresh tomatoes harvested at the peak of the season. Nothing else is added, except for a bit of salt and pepper, and one fresh basil leaf hand-placed in every can.

Our dough is made by our own passionate team right here in the UK.

Our mozzarella cheese is made from milk produced in farmer owned cooperatives. This ensures better prices for farmers, but better conditions for cows, too.

We signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment. By 2026, we’ll require our suppliers of fresh, frozen, and processed chicken to meet their high standards of chicken welfare.

Since 2017, all the eggs (shell eggs and in ingredients) in our UK supply chain have been free range. Internationally, we’re continuing to transition to free range eggs where the vast majority of our sites are either already using free range shell eggs or have committed to doing so by the end of 2022. We are committed to having 100% free range eggs across all remaining egg-containing ingredients globally by the end of 2025.*

*Update March 2023: All free range hens are temporarily being kept indoors on Government veterinary advice. Our free range eggs and food products made with free range eggs, may currently contain barn eggs from free range hens housed in barns for the short term. PizzaExpress remains committed on using free range eggs and will continue to do so as soon as it is safely possible.

People

We look out for our people, both our teams and our communities.

People and pizza is what makes PizzaExpress, and makes us a great place to visit and work. From the pizza making parties in your childhood, to getting your first job with us, we always want to be a part of your journey. Our values come from our teams, and we want to share why our teams love working here.

Venice in Peril

The charity has worked in partnership with local stakeholders for more than 50 years to protect the city, its culture and its environment.

Whenever you order a Funghi di Bosco pizza, a percentage will be donated to the Fund.

Nordoff Robbins

Nordoff Robbins’ vision is to live in a world where through music therapy, human potential is recognised, witnessed, and celebrated regardless of profound disability, illness, or social exclusion. Jazz is essential to our heritage at PizzaExpress, and our partnership with Nordoff Robbins is one way we stay true to Peter Boizot’s legacy.

Place2Be

Place2Be’s mission is to improve the mental wellbeing and prospects of children, their families and communities across the UK. Through their various support programmes, 70% of children record an improvement in wellbeing, 68% of students cause fewer problems in class, and 75% find it easier to have and keep friends.

Enable Ireland

Enable Ireland provides disability services from 43 locations across Ireland for over 600 000 people. Demand for their services has grown hugely due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. They partnered with PizzaExpress in 2004, and since then we’ve raised over 245 000 Euros for children and adults with disabilities.