08/12/2021 Press release
The Restaurant Group signs Green Gas contract with TotalEnergies Gas & Power as part of sustainability strategy
The Restaurant Group (TRG), a significant player in the UK casual dining market, has entered into a Green Gas contract with TotalEnergies Gas & Power. The contract* means that all TRG’s directly controlled supplies of electricity, gas and LPG used in its Wagamama, Pubs and Leisure (Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito) divisions will be from renewable sources. The move is a key part of TRG’s sustainability strategy and roadmap to achieving carbon Net Zero by 2035.
TotalEnergies has climate at the heart of its strategy
TotalEnergies is committed to net zero and aims to become one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies by the end of this decade. The company already has major renewables projects underway in the UK, with offshore wind farms in England, Scotland and Wales. TotalEnergies existing projects have a combined capacity of up to 3GW, and globally the company aims to have 100GW of generating capacity by 2030.
TRG’s ‘Preserving The Future’ strategy
For TRG, a key pillar of their ‘Preserving The Future’ sustainability strategy is a commitment to operating ethically and sustainably and to continuously finding ways to reduce the Group’s carbon footprint. As founder members and co-chair of emission working groups (for scopes 1 and 2) for the Zero Carbon Forum, TRG is already playing an active role in developing sector-wide plans to reduce emissions. This contract builds on the progress to date and represents a major milestone which will enable TRG to accelerate its progress towards reaching its net zero carbon emissions target by 2035.
Specifically, this contract means that all sites on this Green Gas contract will have 100% of their consumption backed by RGGOs (Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin). RGGO certificates guarantee that for every KWh of gas consumed from the grid, an equivalent volume of biomethane has been injected.
Alongside Green Gas, TRG also uses TotalEnergies Gas & Power’s Pure Green power, with 100% of the consumption for their sites backed by an equivalent volume of REGOs (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) - only from wind, solar and hydro sources.
Mark Rose, Sales and Marketing Director for TotalEnergies Gas & Power, said:
“At TotalEnergies Gas & Power we’re committed to helping our customers become carbon net zero, so we’re delighted to be able to support The Restaurant Group’s drive to reducing their carbon footprint across all their sites.
Together, we can make fantastic brands such as Wagamama even more sustainable, efficient and ethical.
This new contract demonstrates how TotalEnergies offers its customers complete solutions across the value chain. We are producing as well as selling the power our clients need, allowing us to offer services they can understand and trust.
This contract also shows how the green economy is emerging in the UK, with TotalEnergies offering renewable and low carbon energy solutions for major businesses like TRG looking to secure dependable green power.”
James Taylor Head of Sustainability & Environmental Purchasing, The Restaurant Group, said:
“I am delighted that we have signed this contract which is a major milestone towards reaching our recently announced intention to achieve net zero carbon emissions across our entire value chain by 2035. By moving to renewable cleaner sources for all our directly controlled supplies of electricity, gas and LPG, this means we are well on track for reducing emissions from our owned or controlled sources.
Today’s announcement will enable us to now focus our efforts on identifying and implementing reductions in our Scope 3 footprint. We recognise there is more work to do, but are delighted to be playing a major role in sector-wide plans to reduce emissions.”
*The contract was signed in October 2021.