Businesses embrace vegan eating for January to increase their sustainability
1st January, 2022 – Veganuary – the global pledge to try vegan for 31 days – is thrilled to welcome Harrods, the world’s leading luxury department store, to the list of businesses taking part in the Veganuary Workplace challenge and encouraging everyone in their team to eat vegan for January. They join Volkswagen Group UK, Sky, Superdrug, Papa John’s, NHS Supply Chain, Adept Carehomes and many more forward-thinking businesses participating in the challenge.
In their own words, here are some of the reasons top British businesses are embracing vegan eating this January:
Cian O’Brien, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK, who is personally taking part alongside the team, says:
“Our business is focussed on driving increased sustainability. As a responsible vehicle manufacturer, we are focused on driving electrification and play a leading role in shaping future mobility in a sustainable way. However, sustainability is broader and the opportunity to make a personal contribution through changing our habits has to be explored. Hence, I am happy to try Veganuary and encourage colleagues to give it a go as sometimes small changes can make a real difference.”
Michelle Kendrick, Executive Producer at the Mill – a global creative and production agency with offices around the world, says:
“The driving force behind me wanting to take on the Veganuary Workplace Challenge has to be the planet. Having seen environmental issues come to the forefront in recent years, it’s so important we do all that we can to help reduce our carbon footprint.
Here at The Mill this January, we will be swapping all meat and dairy products in our studio, as well as providing vegan catering at our events, so staff can explore the many delicious plant-based alternatives that are available on the market.
We will also be hosting a series of live virtual talks with various sustainably platforms for our global teams in London, New York, LA, Chicago, Berlin and Bangalore, so they can learn about the benefits of a plant-based or reduced dairy/meat diet both for the planet and for their overall health.”
Liz Williams, Papa John’s UK Managing Director, speaking on behalf of Papa John’s International which is encouraging staff in 45 countries to take part, says:
“2022 marks the first year of the Veganuary Workplace Challenge at Papa John’s, and another small step in our Plant Love mission.
Through this global campaign, our aim is to plant love for the people, planet and communities we serve, and in doing so, demonstrate the benefits of plant-based food and how nature makes many pizza ingredients better.
Milestones in our Plant Love pledge include the ongoing expansion of our plant-based and flexitarian offering, as well as plant-based and vegan industry award wins in the UK and Middle East.
The call to sign-up to Veganuary’s 31-day challenge has been shared with colleagues in over 45 countries, many have answered, and they will be supported through January and beyond with helpful tips and plant-based recipe inspiration.”
Jo Mackie, Customer and People Director at Superdrug which has done Veganuary promotions in-store for several years, says:
“At Superdrug, we are so excited to be supporting the Veganuary Workplace Challenge this year.
As a business, we care deeply about our continued commitment to initiatives such as Veganuary, our vegan and cruelty-free offering, CSR strategy and being the go-to place on the high street for Vegan products.
We are pleased that our customers can confidently shop with us for products that are not only high quality but align with their ethics and purchasing priorities.
Today we are proud to say that all our own brand products are suitable for vegans, and we continue to innovate and expand in this area, really making waves in the beauty industry!
We are pleased to be a community that champions the belief that delivering accessible retail shouldn’t cost the earth, shown by our Planet pillar forming a key part of our Doing Good Feels Super strategy.
I hope you’ll dip a toe into trying out a vegan lifestyle for just one month this January – I’m excited to see lots of us supporting this amazing cause!”
Joe Lock, Communities Director at Adept Carehomes, who is encouraging their 600 staff and 450 residents to join him in taking part, says:
“I am taking part in Veganuary this year.
As a company we want to show that there are care homes that do cater for alternative diets and take people’s beliefs into consideration, as I was horrified to hear recently about some care homes not respecting people’s vegan and vegetarian diets, when they have dementia and are feeding them meat.
I am an advocate of the vegan way of life and feel it does boost my energy, it can also reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes which can be common factors in the elderly.
I think it is important that we try new and exciting things and change people’s perceptions. I try to ensure the residents’ lives are exciting and adventurous and I hope that one day someone will do the same for me when I reach their age.”
More than 75 businesses are taking on Veganuary’s Workplace Challenge this January including top professional services firms PwC and EY – both repeat participants; Suffolk County Council; Action for Children; M&S; London Southbank University; Hastings Direct; Cauldron/Quorn; Higgidy, Aveda Global and the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt (RJAH) Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Toni Vernelli, Veganuary’s Head of Communications, says: “It’s great to have so many businesses putting their values into action by taking part in Veganuary’s Workplace Challenge.
It’s a fun way to unite their teams in a shared experience while demonstrating their commitment to reducing their impact on the planet and improving the health and wellbeing of their employees.
With a recent YouGov survey showing that 34% of Brits are interested in trying a vegan/plant-based diet*, we’re sure their employees will appreciate this helping hand.”
Notes to editors
- A study conducted last week by YouGov showed one-third (34%) of UK adults are either interested in trying or plan to try a vegan/plant-based diet while 8% of UK adults are already on a vegan/plant-based diet. The survey also revealed that 35% of Brits say their perceptions of a plant-based/vegan diet have changed for the better in the past two years and 36% think eating a vegan/plant-based diet is an admirable thing to do.
- All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2079 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 21st – 22nd December 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
- Veganuary is free to join, and people can sign-up at veganuary.com to receive 31 daily emails packed with nutritional info, delicious recipes, easy meal plans and helpful advice.
Media contact
Toni Vernelli, International Head of Communications, Veganuary
T: 07505 866 548
