The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has unveiled a new supplier programme to better connect sustainable foodservice outlets with their supply base and give suppliers access to seminars and trade fair exhibition space.
Accredited suppliers can now benefit from the full SRA membership, which also includes invitations to exclusive events, seminars and logo rights.
The SRA has also revamped its supplier directory to include categorised filters and mapped locations, to help restaurants easily prioritise locally-sourced products.
The news comes as contract caterers Bartlett Mitchell announced it will only source suppliers from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA)’s supplier network.
Bartlett Mitchell’s quality mentor, Sally Grimes, said: 'Sourcing new suppliers of local produce that meet the necessary due diligence and quality standards can take a long time to achieve.
“From a procurement perspective, the SRA has really helped. They have an ever-expanding list of suppliers who are SRA-approved so by using them you are also helping your own sustainability credentials. We now specify that all new suppliers to Bartlett Mitchell must be SRA-approved.”
SRA managing director Mark Linehan said: “We know that the relationship between chefs and their suppliers is absolutely critical to the success of a business.
“That’s why we’ve put suppliers on an equal footing and created what we hope and believe will be the ultimate matchmaking service.”
Birmingham restaurant Opus has also backed the SRA’s new focus on suppliers. Managing director Ann Tonks said: “Access to great producers is so important, and, we would argue, to great local producers in particular.
“But it can be remarkably hit and miss finding local suppliers and organising deliveries. A directory of suppliers vetted by the SRA who can demonstrate sustainability credentials is an amazing tool for restaurants like ours that share those same values.”
The SRA’s new supplier programme now involves more comprehensive assessment of the supplier’s business, including a company-wide survey of sustainability, and then a product survey based on 14 key areas of sustainability.
Supplier membership to the SRA allows access to a client base of than 4,000 sites ranging from the Isles of Scilly to Shetland, and includes fine-dining restaurants, contract caterers, universities and cafes.
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