Punch Pubs & Co has pledged to reduce their carbon footprint and support nature’s recovery by partnering with the Eden Project.
As part of the collaboration, they are supporting a number of Eden initiatives which will increase local biodiversity across Punch’s estate by enhancing their pub gardens to create new habitats for wildlife and green spaces for communities to socialise.
Whilst supporting the charity’s mission to build relationships between people and the natural world to demonstrate the power of working together for the benefit of all living things, Punch is also focused on indirectly mitigating their residual emissions to help them on their journey to Net Zero*.
The partnership encompasses three key pillars:
- The Environment – Punch will participate in the National Wildflower Centre’s Biodiversity Scheme.
- Greening Gardens – Eden will provide training, tools and materials to encourage pubs to become ‘Pollinator Pubs’, creating sensory and accessible garden areas for customers to enjoy whilst boosting biodiversity.
- Community Hubs – working with Eden Project Communities programme, the partnership will centre on Eden’s flagship campaign The Big Lunch, which this year is an official part of the Coronation, as well as a range of social well-being ideas to further enhance Punch’s community ethos.
Clive Chesser, Punch Pubs & Co. CEO, is excited about the partnership and said: “We are delighted to have teamed up with the Eden Project, who can truly help us when it comes to the social well-being of our communities, local impact and environmental footprint alongside our wider sustainability credentials.
“We are committed to Doing Well by Doing Good, and this new partnership is doing just that, using the power of the local and pub gardens to bring people together and boost biodiversity.”
Peter Stewart LVO, Chief Purpose Officer at the Eden Project, added: “Our partnership with Punch Pubs & Co, is about exploring how we can collaborate to transform our understanding of the world. As a former Publican I know that pubs have long been a place where people have come together in our communities.
“We’re delighted to be working with Punch to explore how we bring more people together to make meaningful connection through our flagship campaign The Big Lunch and by creating community hubs that become accessible green spaces via our wildflower schemes in Punch locations. Together we’re exploring how by connecting people with each other and the natural world we can start to shape a better future.”
The partnership has begun in earnest, with a number of Punch’s pubs having already signed up for the Coronation Big Lunch (May 6-8), which is aimed at connecting people and communities whilst encouraging people to make positive change where they live.