Sysco GB has broadened its sustainability offer with the launch of One Planet One Table, a sourcing framework designed to help foodservice operators choose products backed by recognised third-party environmental and social certifications.
Developed with Quantis, the global sustainability consultancy, the initiative aims to make it easier for chefs, caterers and hospitality businesses to identify products that have been independently verified against standards covering issues su...
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ch as responsible fishing, farming, labour conditions and biodiversity. The products are grouped on a dedicated page on the Brakes website, where customers can also filter by accreditation, giving them a clearer view of what each label means and why it has been included.
The move reflects a wider attempt by Sysco to simplify what has become a crowded sustainability landscape. Rather than asking operators to navigate a patchwork of claims, the company says it has screened certifications against criteria including independent auditing, open enrolment, product-level traceability, robust standards and relevance to the environmental and social issues most material to its business.
Among the schemes included are MSC, ASC, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, RSPCA Assured and LEAF Marque, each covering different aspects of sustainable production. Sysco says only certifications that met its requirements have been selected.
Pete Statham, head of sustainability for Sysco Europe, said operators wanted sustainability to be credible, practical and commercially relevant. In his view, using verified third-party accreditations allows chefs and caterers to align purchases with their own goals while still serving food that meets customer expectations.
The launch also builds on a programme Sysco first introduced in the United States in 2023, when it described One Planet One Table as its largest assortment of certified and sustainability-focused products. Since then, the company has expanded the range substantially. Its FY2025 sustainability report said the assortment now includes more than 4,300 products certified under more than 20 third-party standards, and that it plans to extend the offer into additional markets.
Sysco GB says the programme spans a broad mix of categories, from fresh produce, meat, poultry and eggs to disposables, tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and ice cream. One area highlighted by the company is seafood, where it says its MSC and ASC certified range now exceeds 200 products, including cod, haddock and pollock.
The initiative is also intended to help operators go beyond branding and use sustainability data in a more practical way. Sysco says certified products can support ESG reporting, environmental claims, responsible sourcing statements and compliance with public sector buying standards, while also helping businesses working towards schemes such as Green Tourism or Green Key.
The company has linked the launch to its wider sustainability strategy, Securing the Future of Food, arguing that certified sourcing can contribute to supply chain resilience as well as climate and social objectives. It points, for example, to its Citavo coffee range, which includes Fairtrade products designed to support fairer prices for farmers, better working conditions and measures intended to reduce deforestation risk and encourage climate-resilient farming methods such as shade-grown cultivation.
Sysco also says the logic behind the initiative is increasingly important because food supply chains account for more than 85% of emissions in the food industry. By combining third-party certification with product-level carbon data, the company argues, operators can focus on the largest sources of environmental impact rather than relying on broad sustainability claims.
The launch sits alongside other recent steps by the company to strengthen the local and sustainable sourcing story. In February, Sysco announced a pilot programme called Home Grown by Sysco, aimed at making locally sourced foods and artisan products easier to identify across parts of the US and Canada. Together, the initiatives suggest a wider effort to make sustainable and local sourcing more visible across Sysco’s markets, while keeping the emphasis on products that can be verified rather than merely described.
For Sysco, the appeal is that credible standards can be turned into a commercial proposition. For customers, the promise is simpler: a way to make more sustainable buying decisions without having to decode every label themselves.
Source: Noah Wire Services
