Rimmington Mike , Smith Jane Carlton and Hawkins R

Corporate Social Responsibility, Contract Caterers and Public Sector Food Procurement

Rimmington Mike , Smith Jane Carlton and Hawkins Rebecca

Abstract
Leading contract caterers are adopting corporate social responsibility as an important part of their operational approach, and sustainability is accepted as being integral to their operations. DEFRA’s Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative aims to use public sector catering to support the UK Government’s policy for Farming and Food. However, research amongst public sector catering providers in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire found only limited evidence of current sustainable practice.

Leading contract caterers worked with the Centre for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry at Oxford Brookes University to develop principles and indicators which will provide specific operational and measurement guidelines to encourage and monitor further progress in sustainable food procurement.

Mike Rimmington is Principal Lecturer and Martin Radcliffe Fellow in the Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management, Business School, Oxford Brookes University.

Jane Carlton Smith is a Senior Researcher in the Centre for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry (CESHI), Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management, Business School, Oxford Brookes University.

Dr Rebecca Hawkins is Research and Consultancy Fellow and Director of CESHI, Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management, Business School, Oxford Brookes University.

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