New survey of 1,391 firms across hospitality, retail, catering, and public sector reveals sustainability has become a decisive procurement factor, with the public sector leading at 96%.
Bridgwater, United Kingdom, 7th April 2026 – A major new survey of 1,391 UK businesses has found that 89% now consider sustainability and energy efficiency to be either “essential” or “quite important” when selecting new catering equipment or suppliers.
The findings, gathered from decision-makers across hospitality, retail, catering, and the public sector, suggest a clear change in how buyers choose the equipment that powers their kitchens, bars, and service operations.
The survey asked respondents a single, direct question: “When choosing new catering equipment or suppliers, how important are sustainability and energy efficiency?”
The public sector scored highest, with 96.4% of respondents rating sustainability as essential or quite important. No public sector respondent selected “not important at all.” This aligns with government procurement rules under PPN 06/21, which require suppliers bidding for major public contracts to demonstrate credible carbon reduction plans.
In the retail sector, 90.8% of businesses placed sustainability high on their procurement criteria, with 40.5% calling it outright “essential.” The catering sector followed closely at 88.7%, while hospitality (the largest respondent group with 574 businesses) recorded 88.0%.
At the other end of the scale, only 1.4% of all respondents said sustainability is “not important at all” when making purchasing decisions.
The findings arrive against a backdrop of sustained energy cost pressure. Figures from the Carbon Trust show hospitality businesses alone spend over £1.3 billion annually on energy, generating more than 8 million tonnes of carbon emissions. The sector uses up to ten times more energy per square metre than the average commercial property.
At the same time, financial incentives are accelerating the shift. Since January 2026, unincorporated businesses and landlords can claim a new 40% first-year capital allowance on qualifying energy-efficient catering equipment, while permanent full expensing continues to offer 100% write-offs in year one for incorporated firms. These incentives effectively reduce the cost of upgrading to efficient equipment by up to 25%.
Dale Howard, Director at H2 Catering Equipment said: “This data backs up what we’re hearing from customers every day. Businesses aren’t choosing energy-efficient catering equipment to tick a box. They’re doing it because their margins depend on it. When nine out of ten firms tell you sustainability is a priority, that’s not a trend. That’s just the way things work now.
“The results should be a wake-up call for catering equipment manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers across the UK. With nearly nine in ten businesses actively weighing sustainability in their procurement decisions, companies that cannot demonstrate verifiable energy efficiency credentials risk being left off shortlists altogether.”
Dale claims the data also points to a growing opportunity in the public sector, where Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions reporting requirements are pushing procurement teams to demand carbon data from suppliers down to the product level.
He added: “Manufacturers who can provide transparent energy ratings, lifecycle cost analyses, and embodied carbon data stand to win more of these contracts.
“The question buyers are asking has changed. It used to be ‘does it save energy?’ Now it’s ‘can you prove it?’ They want data, not promises. The businesses that do well from here will be the ones treating energy performance as a core product spec, not something they bolt on at the end.”
ENDS