The Peach 20/20 Summit aims to bring together leaders from across the hospitality sector to share knowledge, experience and networking opportunities. This year’s annual event, held in early March, centred on sustainability across all areas of the hospitality industry.
The hospitality and agriculture sectors share many similarities – both are highly exposed to geopolitical risks, shifting government policy and recruitment challenges. They also share a strong passion for, and reliance on, a resilient and transparent food supply chain.
Nutrics, a food data company and headline sponsor of the event, opened the summit by highlighting that 71% of individuals aspire to be more environmentally friendly, with this trend particularly strong among younger demographics. Despite this, the primary drivers for eating out such as price, taste and overall experience, still remain. This led to presenters concluding that consumers increasingly expect hospitality businesses to operate sustainably on their behalf.
Transparency gained through collaboration
A number of speakers emphasised the growing need for supply chain transparency where operators must fully understand, integrate and clearly communicate provenance, sustainability claims and supply chain connections.
Restaurant groups Faber and Hawksmoor showcased how close collaboration with sourcing partners and processors has added value to their businesses, strengthened their supply chain resilience and supported sustainability improvements.
Simon Thelwell (School of Sustainable Food and Farming) reinforced the importance of recognising long-term relationships and the benefits for the environment. “Timescales for change must be respected – there are no ‘quick wins’ on farm.”
“The NFU will continue working to elevate the profile of British agriculture within the out-of-home market and champion the value of collaboration and buying British..”
NFU Senior Adviser (Food Service and Procurement) Jennifer Varnam
He also raised concerns about the number and complexity of carbon calculators, urging the hospitality sector to carefully consider which data points they truly need and ensure they fully understand them.
Closing panel on beef
The closing panel explored “What’s the beef with beef?”, featuring Will Beckett (Hawksmoor), Maria McCann (Blacklock) and Alistair Murdoch (Burger King UK). All panellists reported strong growth in beef sales over the past five years. They discussed challenges posed by the declining number of abattoirs and emphasised the vital role of processors and whole-carcass utilisation.
David Barton, NFU Livestock Board Chair, also contributed to this panel, highlighting ongoing concerns regarding changes to SFI payments and posed a critical question to the room: “Who is going to pay for and invest in sustainability at farm level? As government support reduces, how can farmers be expected to deliver without commercial viability?”
He also encouraged hospitality businesses to avoid relying on global carbon metrics when assessing beef, instead drawing on more accurate UK-specific data that reflects high domestic production standards and product quality.
NFU Livestock Board Chair David Barton asking a question at Planet Peach 2026 ©2026 The Makers Photography + Film
‘Embedding’ sustainability
Overall, the event made clear that sustainability must be embedded across all areas of hospitality – from environmental and operational practices to financial resilience.
There was strong recognition of the importance of robust supply chains and the mutual benefits they bring to branding, storytelling and building customer trust.
The NFU will continue working to elevate the profile of British agriculture within the out-of-home market and champion the value of collaboration and buying British.
