SUSTAINABILITY AND THE UK PUB INDUSTRY
SUSTAINABILITY AND THE UK PUB INDUSTRY

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory review of the sustainability agendas being addressed and publicly reported within the UK pub industry. The paper begins with a short discussion of the characteristics of sustainability and this is followed by a brief thumbnail sketch of pubs and pub operating companies within the UK. The paper draws its empirical material from the most recent information on sustainability posted on the UK‘s leading pub operating companies’ web sites. While there is considerable variation in the information the leading pub operating companies publicly provided on their sustainability commitments and achievements this information embraces a range of environmental and social, and to a lesser extent, economic issues. More critically the authors argue that these commitments are driven more by the search for efficiency gains, that they are couched within existing business models centred on continuing growth and that as such the UK pub industry is currently pursuing a ‘weak’ rather than a ‘strong’ model of sustainability. The paper provides an accessible review of the sustainability agendas being pursued within the UK pub industry and as such it will interest academics, students and practitioners interested in both the hospitality industry and corporate sustainability.

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