Welcome
Welcome to our 24/25 Impact Report. Our commitment to delicious food and our local communities has been central to our South London business since it was founded in 1979. Today, we are as dedicated as ever to creating high-quality hand-crafted products, made to improve lives and protect our beautiful planet. Over 45 years of experience with fantastic food has helped us develop our holistic approach to eating. We care about your health but also want our products to taste great too.
At Simply Lunch, our purpose has always been clear: to improve lives through delicious food. As we continue to grow, we recognise that our responsibility extends beyond the products we make, it includes the impact we have on our people, our communities, and the wider Food to Go industry.
Over the past year, we have continued to challenge ourselves to think di erently about sustainability and long-term impact. This is not about short-term initiatives or headline commitments; it is about embedding responsible decision-making into how we operate every day. From the ingredients we source to the way we support our people and partners, we remain focused on driving real and measurable progress.
We are proud of the steps we have taken this year and remain committed to our long-term ambition: to be a business that delivers exceptional food, improves the everyday lives of our customers, and contributes positively to the world around us.
Sam Page MANAGING DIRECTOR SIMPLY LUNCH
Our Approach
Sam Page, Managing Director at Simply Lunch, articulates that “We exist to be a positive force in the world and drive real change in the food industry to protect generations to come.” Launching Vision 28, a five-year plan to double the size of our business by 2028 highlights our ambitious targets as a company. However, this is about more than financial growth. Whether we’re launching innovative products, supporting charity partners or creating a great place to work, Simply Lunch is committed to being a force for good.
Our People
It is quite simple; our people make Simply Lunch what it is. We are passionate about creating a working environment our people enjoy. A place where people are inspired to create a great future for themselves. Head of People, Riccita Pattni, states ‘Our people strategy is one of our key strategic drivers at Simply Lunch. It is crucial that we attract and retain the highest calibre of passionate and enthusiastic food industry professionals who are as excited about the future of this dynamic industry as we are. We respect our employees and recognise the importance of creating a positive and open working environment for them. We are committed to the development of our people, encouraging each and every person to reach their career aspirations.’
Our Food
Our customers trust Simply Lunch to provide them with the best Food to Go products on the market. We are often an extension to our customers business therefore it's important sustainability objectives are aligned. Whether it's plastic-free packaging, locally sourced food or healthy whole food options, we will ensure our customers are given options to drive change within the industry.
Our Operations
Producing food products on a large scale can have a significant impact on our environment if not managed correctly. Throughout the business, we carefully monitor the impact our business operations have on our planet and have annual objectives in place to ensure we are operating in the most sustainable way.
Our Communities
Simply Lunch recognises its responsibility to make a positive impact, a commitment that extends into our local community. As a food manufacturer, we have the opportunity to make a positive di erence to vulnerable people who may not have easy access to food on a daily basis. As well as regular ad hoc charitable work, we have built a partnership with our local charity fighting homelessness, Croydon Nightwatch, which spans over 20 years. As our business grows, we will continue to provide value to the communities around us.
FY 2024 /2025
FY 2024/2025 represents a year of meaningful progress for Simply Lunch. Sustainability remains a core strategic driver for the business, and this year we have placed greater emphasis on measurement, transparency and performance-led action.
Through our second full carbon assessment, we have gained a deeper and more accurate understanding of our emissions profile, particularly across Scope 3, where food and drink purchases represent the most significant source of impact. Importantly, this insight has enabled us to move beyond reporting and into targeted action. We have seen clear improvements in carbon intensity driven by deliberate commercial and product decisions. These include reformulating products, removing higher-impact ingredients where viable, and continuing to expand our plant-based and lower-carbon product o erings.
Alongside environmental performance, we have continued to invest heavily in our people and our communities. High levels of employee engagement, strong retention, internal progression and meaningful charitable partnerships all demonstrate our belief that sustainability must be social as well as environmental. This report outlines our progress across carbon, people, food and community impact, while reinforcing our commitment to long-term improvement.
William Page
Carbon
“My Emissions is a leading carbon assessment platform for the food and beverage sector, combining GHG Protocol-aligned methodology with advanced automation to deliver accurate, actionable insights.
This year marks our second assessment with Simply Lunch, and the progress made since their baseline is clear. Initiatives such as removing smoked salmon from Simply Lunch-branded products and increasing their plant-based range have contributed to a reduction in the carbon intensity of their food and drink purchases down from 2.79 to 2.50 kgCO₂e/kg, a 10.4% decrease year-on-year.
We’re proud to support Simply Lunch as they work towards their 2040 net-zero ambition, helping them measure change over time and identify the next opportunities to reduce emissions across their value chain.”
Matthew Issacs CO-FOUNDER MY EMISSIONS
Understanding Our Emissions
Our total reported emissions for FY 2024 /2025 were 16,166 tCO₂e, measured in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and covering Scope 1, 2 and selected Scope 3 categories.
As expected for a food manufacturing business, the majority of our footprint sits within Scope 3 emissions, which account for just over 90% of total emissions. These emissions are predominantly driven by the production of food and drink ingredients, packaging materials and upstream logistics.
This reinforces a key principle within our sustainability strategy: the greatest opportunity for impact sits within the choices we make around ingredients, suppliers and product design, rather than operational energy alone.
Scope 1 emissions (8.09%) are primarily associated with fleet fuel use, while Scope 2 emissions (1.71%) relate to purchased electricity across our sites. While these areas remain important, our long-term reduction e orts are rightly focused on Scope 3, where meaningful change can be delivered at scale.
FY23/24 FY24/25 TOTAL - NUMBERS ARE: 13,990 16,166
During FY 24/25, we continued to analyse our purchased food and drink items using the My Emissions A–E carbon rating framework, allowing us to track how purchasing decisions evolve over time.
FY23/24 FY24/25
2.79 2.50 -10.39%
Encouragingly, this analysis shows a clear shift towards lower-carbon ingredients. The proportion of A-rated purchases increased from 58% in FY23 to 63% in FY25, reflecting a 5% improvement over 12 months. At the same time, E-rated items reduced from 14% to 11%, demonstrating progress in moving away from the highest-impact ingredients where alternatives exist.
These improvements are the result of actions, including:
Reformulating existing recipes to reduce reliance on high-impact ingredients
Removing certain products from Simply Lunch-branded ranges where carbon intensity could not be su ciently reduced
Expanding plant-based and lower-impact options across core categories
This demonstrates how carbon considerations are now embedded into our product development, range reviews and commercial decision-making, rather than treated as a standalone sustainability exercise.
Our Community
Supporting communities remains a core pillar of our sustainability approach. As a food manufacturer, we recognise both our responsibility and our opportunity to support people facing food insecurity, social exclusion and digital inequality.
Beyond fundraising, we focused on practical support where it is most needed. Over the year, 75,000 products were donated to Croydon Nightwatch and The Felix Project, helping to provide food to vulnerable individuals and families. We also donated 20+ digital devices to Clear Community Web, supporting digital access and inclusion within the local community.
Throughout FY 24/25, we continued our long-standing partnership with Meals & More, alongside a number of fundraising and volunteering initiatives led by our teams. These included the completion of a 100km charity walk, raising £2,300, and the second annual Spirit of Giving Christmas Campaign, which raised an additional £4,300.
In 2025/2026 we will be aiming to donate £10,000 for 10 years of Meals & More.
In total, our teams contributed 300+ hours of volunteering hours through our paid charity scheme, reinforcing our belief that social impact is strongest when it combines financial support with time, skills and long-term commitment.
Our People
At Simply Lunch, our People First strategy shapes how we recruit, develop and support our teams. We believe that creating a fair, inclusive and supportive workplace is fundamental to long-term success and central to delivering our purpose of improving lives through delicious food.
We are committed to attracting and retaining passionate food industry professionals, while ensuring every colleague feels valued, respected and empowered to grow. This commitment extends across the entire employee journey, from recruitment and development to wellbeing, progression and long-term careers.
Riccita Pattni HEAD OF PEOPLE
Developing & Supporting Our People
We are committed to growing talent from within and providing clear pathways for progression. Over the past year, around 40 internal promotions have taken place across the business, with over 30% of leadership roles filled internally. Our apprenticeship programme continues to support long-term development, with apprentices progressing into permanent and promoted roles. Employee wellbeing remains a core priority. We invest in mental health support, wellbeing initiatives and access to health benefits, ensuring colleagues feel supported both in and outside of work. Listening to our people is central to this approach, supported by regular engagement surveys and open feedback channels.
A Positive & Engaged Workplace
Our focus on people is reflected in strong engagement and retention. Employee retention stands at 97%, significantly above the industry average, and 90% of colleagues would recommend Simply Lunch as a great place to work. These results reflect a culture built on trust, fairness and shared purpose. Every employee is supported to take part in volunteering through our paid Charity Day, reinforcing our belief that social impact starts with empowered people.
Building a Stronger Future Together
Our approach to people is not transactional, it is values-driven and long-term. By continuing to invest in our teams, promote inclusion and support wellbeing, we are building a resilient, engaged workforce that enables Simply Lunch to grow responsibly and sustainably.
Improving lives starts within our own organisation, and our people remain at the heart of everything we do.
Strengthening our Community Impact
LOOKING AHEAD
We are continuing to invest in digitalisation across our operations to further strengthen the service and quality we provide our customers. The ongoing rollout of our ERP platform will enable deeper integration between production, quality, procurement and logistics, improving traceability, responsiveness and consistency across every order. We are also exploring the use of AI to enhance forecasting, planning and quality management, helping us deliver greater reliability, faster communication and a more seamless customer experience. These investments are designed to ensure we can support our customers better with improved accuracy, transparency and continuous improvement built into the way we operate.
We are advancing our carbon reporting capabilities to give customers deeper insight and more actionable data. This includes gathering more granular information across our products and supply chains to improve the accuracy of our carbon footprint calculations. We will be introducing customer sales reports to provide carbon intensity reporting at a product and location level, enabling customers to make more informed decisions around procurement, menu planning and sustainability goals. By improving transparency and building more accurate datasets, we aim to support our customers on their own carbon reduction journeys and contribute to industry-wide progress toward Net Zero.
We are strengthening our community and charity commitments with a target of delivering 400+ hours of volunteering and charitable support this year. This builds on the success of our existing partnerships and initiatives and reflects our belief that businesses have a role to play in supporting the communities they operate in. From food redistribution and educational workshops to charity events and volunteering days, our goal is to create meaningful local impact while engaging our team in work that aligns with our values.
As your Food To Go supplier, we guarantee your range will fulfil your customer's tastes and dietary needs. From our delicious sandwiches to our range of salads, to our extensive hot eats selection.