My name is Ben Hoskin, and I am the Chief Operating Officer of Regency Purchasing Group. I’ve worked here since 2009, and was appointed into this role in 2022. I also lead the UK’s largest network of field-based procurement managers.

For 20 years, Regency Purchasing Group have been helping businesses across the UK reduce their costs by leveraging the value of their collective spend. We work with over 170 local and national suppliers to support more than 5,000 businesses delivering savings of between 8-14% across all buying categories. However, we do so much more than just saving businesses time and money…

As sustainability continues to grow in significance on the global agenda, we’re helping more and more organisations align their procurement to unlock supply chain sustainability benefits and reduce the impact on social, environment and economic factors.

We will be working with Weston College, in particular the Hospitality and Catering department and the Grove, to review their supply chain and identify ways in which the college can decrease emissions to achieve their ambition to become Net Zero.

We’ve already completed a full purchasing audit which has presented over 11% of cost savings, and next we’ll be reviewing waste and recycling processes and contracts.

We’ll also be introducing our market-leading technology solutions to provide the college with full control of their purchasing, as well as providing staff and students with access to MenuIQ, our menu, allergen and nutrition management system. The functionality within this system will allow students to effectively develop their menus, manage menu costs and understand the importance of allergen and ingredient management and compliance. The MenuIQ platform has been built by an in-house team of software specialists and as part of the partnership with the college, we intend to invite students to provide user feedback which will be considered for future development and new feature releases.

For the college, there are multiple drivers for why this is will create a positive impact, including cost reduction through reduced energy costs, reduced over-specification, reduced consumption, reduced wastage as well as reduced social and environmental compliance costs.

Sustainability also comes with risk reduction benefits – it reduces the potential negative financial impact on brand value from using unsustainable products or working with suppliers using unsustainable practices, as well as non-compliance with environmental regulations.

There will also be opportunity for the college to increase revenue by charging more for eco-friendly products, as well as possible income streams from incentivised recycling and waste management programmes.

Net zero is the best way we can tackle climate change; the actions we take in the next 10 years to limit emissions will be critical to the future of the planet, so it’s hugely important that businesses and individuals work together to reduce the carbon we produce.

As a national business with roots in Weston-super-Mare, we’re delighted to be supporting such a progressive local business. I am confident that our partnership will go from strength to strength, leaving no stone unturned.

- Ben Hoskin, Regency Purchasing Group