Mitchells & Butlers Unveils Solar Panel Rollout Across 100 UK Pubs, Bars, and Restaurants

Image Credit: Mitchells & Butlers

Mitchells & Butlers, the hospitality titan behind beloved chains like Toby Carvery and All Bar One, is embarking on an ambitious solar initiative. The company has begun rolling out solar panels across its UK network of restaurants, pubs, and bars as part of its broader strategy to trim energy costs and advance its climate goals.

According to its construction partner, Edge, Mitchells & Butlers has installed 100 solar panels at various locations, with hundreds more set to be added in the coming year. This initiative is a significant component of a more extensive program to reduce the company's carbon footprint dramatically.

Edge, the consultancy overseeing the project, reports that this effort will cut Mitchells & Butlers' carbon emissions by approximately 1,250 tonnes annually—equivalent to the energy consumption of around 500 homes. Sam Ward, Senior Project Manager at Edge, praised the progress made thus far, highlighting the project's positive trajectory.

"Having commenced delivering in September 2023, more than 100 sites in the south have now completed across Gloucester, Milton Keynes, Dorset, Hampshire, Southampton, and Bournemouth – working with renewable energy specialist contractors Carbon3 and Geo Green Power," he said.

Ward added that each site in the Mitchells & Butlers portfolio presented a "unique set of opportunities and challenges", noting that several properties are listed buildings.

"Our expertise in delivering renewable energy projects like this one has enabled the creation of intricate solutions adapted to the needs of individual sites, optimising the local energy savings that contribute to the wider sustainability goals of the group," he said.

Ian Reeley, head of building development and sustainability solar PV development at Mitchells & Butlers, said the clean energy installation programme would help the firm meet its climate goals.

"We are committed to achieving a 70 percent reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and one of the key initiatives we've implemented to aid the delivery of this is the major rollout and installation of PV panels to our freehold in collaboration with EDGE," he said. "Our PV locations are geographically spread, and each require a highly bespoke series of works, so a one-size-fits-all approach was never a consideration."