A Practical Approach to Lower Carbon Food
Big Carbon Kickout is built on a clear idea. Lowering the carbon impact of food should not rely on asking people to change their habits. It should come from improving the dishes they already enjoy. Led by Executive Development Chef Matthew Vernon, the initiative focuses on making small, practical changes within familiar menus. The aim is to deliver meals that meet customer expectations while reducing their environmental impact in a way that feels natural. Across Angel Hill Food Co. locations, this approach has already led to carbon savings of 112,929.9 kg CO₂e. This is equivalent to around 287,583 miles driven in a standard petrol car. In total, 38,387 lower carbon dishes have been served. These figures show what is possible when everyday decisions are approached differently.
Why Familiarity Matters
For Matt Vernon, success starts with understanding how people choose their food. Customers tend to return to meals they recognise. Asking them to move away from those choices can create a barrier. Instead, Big Carbon Kickout focuses on keeping those dishes on the menu, while improving how they are made. Recipes such as lasagne, cottage pie and beef chilli have been carefully adjusted through testing and feedback. The updated versions replace the originals, maintaining taste, portion size and value while lowering carbon impact. This approach removes the need for customers to make a conscious trade off. The better option becomes the standard option.
If you start by asking people to change what they eat, you create resistance. If you improve what they already enjoy, the change happens naturally.
Matt Vernon, Executive Development Chef
Designing Change Into the Dish
A key principle of the initiative is that sustainability should sit within the food itself, not alongside it. The Angel Hill hybrid burger is a strong example of this thinking. By combining beef with plant based ingredients, each serving reduces emissions by around 1.66 kg CO₂e. It still delivers 16 g of protein per 100 g, contains less saturated fat, includes added fibre and remains free from common allergens. The dish looks and feels familiar. The difference sits in how it is made. This model can be applied across menus. When the change is built into the recipe, uptake follows without the need for additional messaging or pressure.
What the Data Shows
The results from across Angel Hill sites provide a clear picture of how this approach works in practice.
Lower carbon dishes have been introduced across nearly 300 locations, with varying levels of uptake. Some sites serve smaller volumes, while others see higher demand. When combined, these contributions create a meaningful overall impact. Patterns in the data also reflect how customers engage with food throughout the year. Demand increases during busier periods, particularly in spring and summer, when outdoor events and barbecues are more common. These moments offer greater opportunities to reduce emissions, especially in areas where meat consumption is typically higher. The consistency between operational experience and reporting gives confidence that the approach is both practical and scalable.
Making Carbon Easier to Understand
Communicating carbon impact remains an important part of the initiative. Measurements such as kg CO₂e can be difficult to interpret in isolation. Translating those figures into mileage equivalents helps make them more relatable. Comparing a dish to the distance driven in a petrol car provides a clearer sense of scale. This approach supports more informed conversations with customers and helps build awareness of the impact of different ingredients, particularly beef.
Supporting Kitchens to Deliver
For kitchen teams, Big Carbon Kickout is designed to work within existing operational and commercial pressures. Adjusting ingredient balance can reduce reliance on higher cost items, creating more flexibility to refine recipes. Portion sizes remain consistent, and value is maintained for customers. In some cases, this also supports improved margins. The focus remains on delivering good food that works in practice. Sustainability is part of that outcome, not a separate objective.
A Simple Principle
At its core, Big Carbon Kickout is about making change feel straightforward. Customers are not asked to rethink their eating habits. Teams are not required to overhaul their operations. Instead, small improvements are made within familiar structures, allowing better choices to become part of everyday routines. As Matthew Vernon puts it, “Good food comes first. When you get that right and reduce the carbon impact at the same time, it becomes part of how you cook, not something separate.”
