TRG is committed to operating responsibly. This includes sustainable and ethical sourcing of food ingredients, and reducing its energy consumption and carbon emissions, water usage and waste. TRG has been a part of the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s (SRA) Food Made Good programme since 2014. It also boasts 3-stars (the highest available) in the Food Made Good Sustainability Rating, recognised globally as the industry standard for measuring sustainability in hospitality and foodservice.

In the summer of 2020, Duncan Goodwin, head of risk and compliance at The Restaurant Group, was looking for a cleaning solution that sanitises surfaces quickly and effectively, without damaging furniture finishes.

“Hygiene and surface care was very much the driver for our search for a new cleaning system,” explained Goodwin. “Having investigated it thoroughly and after carrying out assessments into its suitability, as well as putting Toucan Eco through our own trials, it became apparent that it has unique environmental benefits too.

”In spring 2021, TRG began the roll out of Toucan Eco Worktop 1-litre models across 210 sites, comprising 80 pubs and 130 leisure facilities.

“That’s where the environmental benefits of using the system are hugely significant for our business. These figures also don’t take into account that during this period we were using up existing stock of cleaning supplies, so we forecast even bigger savings going forward.”

Plastic savings are made as chemical cleaners are commonly supplied in single use plastic bottles, with concentrate containers made from virgin plastic. Many of these can’t be recycled as they contain toxic ingredients. With approximately only 30% of all plastic being recycled in the UK, according to the British Plastics Initiative, the majority will still end up in landfill.

The Toucan Eco system electrolyses a combination of tap water and normal salt to create a powerful, food safe and eco-friendly disinfectant cleaner that kills up
to 99.999% of germs, including Coronavirus. It’s a low carbon technology that replaces over 80% of synthetic cleaning chemicals, reduces plastic waste, energy and water usage and transportation. And, once installed, operating costs are minimal.

By switching to Toucan Eco, for every typical one litre plastic bottle you’re saving over two litres of water, 4 million joules of energy, and a quarter of a litre of oil. And, for every ton of plastic, you’re saving about three tonnes of CO2.

Toucan Eco doesn’t contain any synthetic chemicals or fragrances, 99.99% of the solution is water, and the pH of the solution is a gentle 7.8 to 8.5 so it’s not aggressive like bleach and, as it’s safe, you don’t need protective
clothing or PPE.

“Feedback from the roll out has been positive all round and the restaurant customers like it too. It’s simple to make onsite using the device and takes a matter of minutes for the electrolysis process to convert the salt water to a powerful but safe disinfectant cleaner.”

It’s now being used to hygienically clean all hard surfaces across the 210 sites, using a spray and wipe method on worktops, tables and chairs – anything that staff and customers are coming in contact with – and replaces 11 chemicals the Group previously bought in. Toucan Eco doesn’t replace heavy degreasers or descalers, although it is effective if used as part of a daily clean.

“For us, it has a return on investment of within six months, after which we’re saving all of our chemical spend.

”The feasibility for Toucan Eco included a business case comparing the capital expenditure of the models versus potential savings to work out its payback period. Goodwin explained: “For us, it has a return on investment of within six months, after which we’re saving all of our chemical spend. It’s effectively free to make from that point onwards.”

Using Toucan Eco has saved The Restaurant Group:

• 2.7 tonnes of plastic packaging
• Reduced 35,000 tonnes of chemicals
• Removed 12,200 cases from distribution and manual handling
• Replaces 11 different chemicals
• Used across 210 UK sites
• Contributed to the Food Made Good 3-star SRA rating
• Six month return on investment
• Solution is virtually free to make

As part of the Food Made Good programme, the SRA assesses businesses like TRG across 10 key areas including ingredient sourcing, energy, waste and water management, as well as how it treats staff and interacts with the community and healthy eating criteria.

Louisa Dodd, Senior Project Manager at the SRA, said: “The Restaurant Group is an excellent example of a business that’s taking a holistic approach to its commitment to operate more sustainably – which is absolutely in line with how we assess hospitality businesses. It’s only by addressing all aspects of its operation that a restaurant, pub or café can claim to be operating sustainably.

“It’s a real credit to TRG that as well as addressing frontline issues like ingredient sourcing and food waste management, it’s also identified cleaning products as an important issue to focus on. Making the switch to a product like Toucan has helped contribute to TRG’s 3-star rating.”

Steve Courtney, Product Specialist for Toucan Eco at the UK’s distributor Robert Scott, added: “It’s fantastic to be working with a restaurant group that’s recognised the potential of Toucan Eco to truly transform cleaning practices and one that’s had the vision to roll out the sustainable cleaning system across so many sites, delivering such significant environmental benefits and cost savings. We hope this encourages more businesses, particularly within the hospitality industry, to switch to cleaning sustainably with Toucan Eco.”