Circular Kitchens provides a clear and supported pathway to making your business more sustainable, grounded in the realities of hospitality. Rather than offering high-level guidance alone, we break circularity down into practical, achievable actions through our 12 pledges and 1–3 Star framework.

You’ll be supported by a local CK Representative who understands your regional supply landscape and can help you identify relevant suppliers, alternatives, and solutions. Through the platform, you can track progress, access resources, and get guidance tailored to your stage and capacity.

Our Sustainable Products Database takes the pain out of sustainable procurement! It allows members to search sustainable kitchen products free rom greenwashing. We score products based on 3 sustainability dimensions: Ecological, Local and Zero Waste, allowing members to find products that meet their business and sustainability needs.

Our on-demand market research is available to search for organic and ecological food and beverage suppliers in your area. Simply reach out to your CK Rep with your enquiry.

Beyond this, you become part of a community of businesses working through similar challenges. This creates opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate on sourcing, and learn from what others are implementing in practice. 

• Our certification is designed so that most businesses can achieve 1-Star within 6 months, 2-Star in 12 months, and 3-Star in 18 months. However, progress depends on your starting point, capacity, and the type of hospitality business you manage. You might already qualify for a 1-star or higher certification upon enrollment. Our framework is designed to support steady, realistic actions, so businesses can move at a pace that works for them while still being recognised for the progress they make.

• Circular Kitchens is expanding through a place-based model, and we may not yet be active in every region. If we’re not currently in your area, we encourage you to register your interest. This helps us prioritise new locations and build local communities of businesses ready to take part. In some cases, we may also be able to support early adopters remotely while we establish a local presence. You can also sign up to take our CK Representative course to help us get more restaurants interested in joining, and launch a community in your area!

Circular Kitchens is a not-for-profit social enterprise desiged to help hospitality businesses become more circular and to promote our community of businesses through marketing and promotion.

The Circular Kitchens Certification is rooted in practical actions across our 4 Principles:

– Plastic Free (no fossil-fuel based plastics)

– Ecological & Ethical (regenerative of planet and communities)

– Local & Regional (nearest supplier rule of thumb to benefit our local economies and minimise food miles)

– Zero Waste (divert waste from incineration and landfill)

Our “Hospitality Guide to becoming Circular” (available to download upon registration) provides clear direction in the form of guidance and a very simple game-changing framework that is easy to visualise and communicate to your team.

Our 3 Star Certification is so simple we are able to communicate it on a single printable A4 page (for preview, email [email protected])

Our membership also comes with the support of your dedicated CK-Rep and the tools we are developing to overcome the barriers to becoming sustainable. This includes the Circular Kitchens Marketplace designed to take the pain out of sustainable procurement. Our marketplace (coming soon – currently at the latter phase of R&D) generates a list of products ranked by their sustainability score (our holistic CK-Scoring) as per your product category of interest such as “coffee cups”, allowing buyers to find sustainable products at their fingertips, free from greenwashing.

Join us today and gain the respect and recognition from customers, staff and stakeholders. 

The Circular Kitchens guidance enables you to do even more good for people and the planet. We celebrate your progress and help you translate it into brand awareness and customer loyalty through individual and umbrella marketing so that conscious customers know where to find you!

Circular Kitchens aspires to become the Gold Standard for sustainability in the hospitality sector. Together we can give rise to more ecological, circular and local food systems!

The Circular Kitchens Certification is based on 4  Principles of a circular economy:  Plastic Free, Ecological & Ethical (Good for people and good for the environment), as Local and Regional as possible (nearest supplier rule of thumb) and Zero Waste (divert from landfill and incineration).  

Our Framework takes restaurants on a 3 Star journey as follows:

1 Star: 

• Replace single-use plastic + Track Region of Origin and ecological status of supplies

2 Stars:

• Increase local and ecological supplies.

3 Stars:

• Communicate region of origin and ecological status to your customers.

For a comprehensive one-page snapshot of our framework across our 3 Star certification please email [email protected].

The full “Hospitality Guide to becoming Circular” is available for download upon registration.

Our certification and enabling platform is available for all hospitality businesses serving food, including restaurants, take-aways, cheesemongers, bakers, cafes, ice cream parlours, food trucks and stalls, mobile operators and catering businesses.

If you are at the business-planning phase, ahead of opening a new business, please get in touch so we can help you be certified and promoted from day one!

While your pledges are public and displayed on your profile page for you to demonstrate your progress to your existing and potential customers, your data is confidential and will only be used for improving our service and communicating insights in the aggregate  (anonymised).

To achieve the Circular Kitchen Certification a business must commit, through a series of 14 pledges across our 4 Principles, to achieve a 1, 2 and 3 Star certification,  within 6, 12 and 18 months of joining.

Pledges are submitted online upon registration and take around 10 minutes to complete.

The business will receive an invitation to fill out simple and succinct surveys as follows:

• 1-3 Month Survey
• Identify single-use plastics to be replaced with sustainable alternatives.
• Confirm tracking of the Region of Origin of all consumables.
• Confirm tracking of the Ecological Status of all consumables.
• Confirm tracking and minimising of food waste through observation, planning and composting.
• Confirm recycling is taking place for all materials.
• Confirm adherence to high standards of treating staff fairly.
• 5-6 Months Survey
• Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
• Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.
• Confirm all single use plastics have been replaced with sustainable alternatives.
• Identify small refills of consumables and non-consumables to be replaced with large refills.
• Identify soaps and cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals (keep away from eyes) to be replaced with sustainable alternatives.
• Confirm water and energy efficiency and conversion to renewable electricity (assuming equal or lower cost to current plan).
• Renew commitment to increase local and ecological inputs of food and beverages.
• 9-12 Months Survey
• Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
• Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.
• Confirm small refills of consumables and non-consumables have been replaced with large refills.
• Confirm soaps and cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals (those written: Danger and keep away from eyes) have been replaced with sustainable alternatives.
• Confirm presence of 1 dish in starters, mains and desert that is 100% local/regional and ecological.
• 15-18 Months Survey
• Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
• Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.Confirm communication the region of origin of food and beverages to your customers.
• Confirm communication the ecological status of food and beverages to your customers.
• Yearly thereafter
• Declare share of Local, Regional and International inputs of food and beverages.
• Declare share of Organic, Ecological and Conventional inputs of food and beverages.
• Confirmation of having 2 or more dishes in starters, mains and desert that are 100% local/regional and ecological.

CK Accreditation can benefit your business in the following ways:

Action plan: Using our Framework enables you to manage and prioritise your actions. The report provided at the end gives your business a ready-made action plan to embed positive changes, strengthen your supply chains, motivate staff, attract attention and build a thriving, future-fit business in the process.

Recognition: Your business is provided with an independent, third-party accreditation and recognition of your actions on the sustainability and circularity issues that matter most.

Competitive advantage: With more consumers choosing to dine at sustainable restaurants and demanding eco-friendly practices, accreditation can help your business stand out from the crowd.

Cost savings: Sustainable practices can help your business reduce costs through initiatives such as energy and water efficiency and by reducing food waste.

Enhanced reputation: Accreditation shows that your business is committed to environmental and social responsibility, which can enhance your reputation with customers, investors, and other stakeholders.

Expert guidance: Circular Kitchens offers guidance on sustainable practices, providing your business with expertise that can help you achieve your goals. 

Access to a network: Achieving the Standard makes you part of a global movement for change. As part of the Circular Kitchens Community, you can share, learn and collaborate with a network of like-minded professionals committed to creating a positive future.

Positive impact: By implementing sustainable practices, your business can have a positive impact on the environment and on local communities, helping to create a more sustainable food system.

Circular Kitchens provides a clear and supported pathway to making your business more sustainable, grounded in the realities of hospitality. Rather than offering high-level guidance alone, we break circularity down into practical, achievable actions through our 12 pledges and 1–3 Star framework.

You’ll be supported by a local CK Representative who understands your regional supply landscape and can help you identify relevant suppliers, alternatives, and solutions. Through the platform, you can track progress, access resources, and get guidance tailored to your stage and capacity.

Our Sustainable Products Database takes the pain out of sustainable procurement! It allows members to search sustainable kitchen products free rom greenwashing. We score products based on 3 sustainability dimensions: Ecological, Local and Zero Waste, allowing members to find products that meet their business and sustainability needs.

Our on-demand market research is available to search for organic and ecological food and beverage suppliers in your area. Simply reach out to your CK Rep with your enquiry.

Beyond this, you become part of a community of businesses working through similar challenges. This creates opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate on sourcing, and learn from what others are implementing in practice. 

• The food system is particularly in need of redesign to align with the circular economy, and hospitality businesses are at the heart of making that transition possible. Becoming circular means shifting towards a model that reduces waste, keeps materials in use, and supports more regenerative ways of producing food. By taking this approach, businesses can not only reduce their environmental impact, but also build more resilient operations, strengthen relationships with local suppliers, attract and retain good staff, and increase customer loyalty by responding to growing demand for more responsible practices.

• Becoming a member allows you to communicate to your customers your intentions and achievement to becoming sustainable. It also provides you with a clear and supported pathway to making your business more sustainable, building on your achievements to date. You gain access to practical tools, resources, and training to help you take action, as well as a recognised certification that communicates your efforts to customers. As the Circular Kitchens community grows and we bring more members and households on board, the certification will become an increasingly visible signal for consumers looking to support responsible businesses. The Circular Kitchens certification is poised to become the Gold Standard for sustainability in UK Hospitality.  Membership also connects you to a community of peers facing similar challenges, creating opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate, and strengthen your local food ecosystem.

Our certification is designed so that most businesses can achieve 1-Star within 6 months, 2-Star in 12 months, and 3-Star in 18 months. However, progress depends on your starting point, capacity, and the type of hospitality business you manage. You might already qualify for a 1-star or higher certification upon enrollment. Our framework is designed to support steady, realistic actions, so businesses can move at a pace that works for them while still being recognised for the progress they make.

Circular Kitchens is a paid membership. However, it is designed to be far more affordable than many traditional sustainability certifications, which can cost thousands of pounds per year. Our annual membership fee (£250) and audit fee (£120) reflects a commitment to making circular practices accessible to independent hospitality businesses from food stalls to high street restaurants.  In many cases, the changes made through the programme, such as decreasing food waste and improving energy efficiency, lead to cost savings over time.

Circular Kitchens is designed to support progress, not perfection. The 1–3 Star framework allows you to make improvements step-by-step, recognising the progress you’re already making while building momentum over time. You’ll be supported by a local CK Representative who understands your context and can help you navigate challenges as they arise. Regular check-ins and audits ensure you’re never left figuring things out by yourself, and support is always available between these moments. If something feels difficult, we work through it together. Members of course are free to leave the membership anytime, simply notify your CK Rep and remove your certification sticker and framed certificate.

Circular Kitchens is expanding through a place-based model, and we may not yet be active in every region. If we’re not currently in your area, we encourage you to register your interest. This helps us prioritise new locations and build local communities of businesses ready to take part. In some cases, we may also be able to support early adopters remotely while we establish a local presence. You can also sign up to take our CK Representative course to help us get more restaurants interested in joining, and launch a community in your area!