What you can honestly put in a sustainability report about your catering — and what you can't.
If you book catering for a company that reports on its emissions, you have probably had the awkward conversation: someone in finance or facilities needs a number, and the caterer's website says "sustainable" without saying what that means.
So here is our position, stated precisely enough to be useful to whoever fills in your reporting.
What is genuinely zero-emission: the delivery
Every order leaves our kitchen on a cargo bike. No van, no diesel, no engine. The delivery leg of your order produces no tailpipe emissions at all, and that is a claim we can stand behind without qualification.
For a City address, that leg would otherwise be a van doing a five-mile round trip through congested streets — the least efficient kind of journey a vehicle can make, and the part of a catering order with the largest avoidable footprint.
What is not zero-emission: everything else
We are not going to tell you our canapés are carbon-free, because no food is. Growing, harvesting, transporting and refrigerating ingredients has a footprint. So does cooking them. So does washing up afterwards.
We mention this because the difference matters if you are reporting. "Zero-emission delivery" is accurate and defensible. "Zero-carbon catering" would not be, and if a supplier tells you their food is carbon neutral, ask them for the methodology and the offset registry — the answer is often revealing.
The things we do that reduce the rest
Nothing is frozen, so nothing is stored cold for months. Industrial canapé production relies on blast-freezing and long-term frozen storage, which is energy-intensive and continuous. We make to order on the morning of your event, so there is no freezer running for weeks on your behalf.
Made to order means very little waste. We hold no finished stock. Nothing is produced speculatively and thrown away unsold, which is where a great deal of catering waste actually occurs — not on the guest's plate but in the supplier's bin.
Seasonal and British where we can be. Menus are built around what is available now rather than what can be flown in. This is partly a quality decision and partly a footprint one; they tend to point the same way.
Packaging that is fully biodegradable. The outer sleeve and the internal inserts are all biodegradable, with no plastic trays. There are also no platters to hire, wash, return or replace, which removes a whole logistics loop.
No single-use serviceware pushed on you. The box is the serving vessel. Slide off the sleeve and it goes on the table.
What to actually write in the report
If it helps, this is the honest form of the claim:
"Catering delivered by zero-emission cargo bike. Food prepared to order in a Central London kitchen with no frozen storage; biodegradable packaging; no hired serviceware."
That is specific, it is true, and it will survive someone checking it. If your reporting needs more detail on a particular order, ask us and we will tell you what we know rather than what sounds best.
Why the bike is not just a gesture
Worth saying plainly: we did not choose cargo bikes primarily as an environmental statement. In the Square Mile a bike is simply the fastest way to move food. Cycle lanes rather than traffic, straight through junctions closed to vehicles, no circling for a loading bay, no parking charge finding its way onto your invoice.
The emissions benefit is real and it is a genuine reason to prefer us if that matters to your organisation. But it comes bundled with a delivery that is faster and more reliable, which is why it works commercially rather than existing as a line in our own marketing.
Frequently asked questions
Can you provide a carbon figure for my order?
Not a credible one, and we would rather say so than invent it. We can confirm in writing that delivery was zero-emission and describe how the food was produced and packaged.
Is the packaging recyclable or compostable?
Biodegradable, including the inserts. No plastic trays.
Do you deliver by bike everywhere?
Across our Central London zone, yes. Outer zones may involve a vehicle; ask us about your postcode if the delivery method matters for your reporting.
Are there platters to return?
No. Nothing to collect, wash or ship back.
Order for your next event
Have a look at this season's menu, or get in touch at help@citycanapecompany.com if you need something specific in writing for procurement.