Our work

Levy: COP26

COP26 was a landmark event in the sustainability calendar that saw 120 world leaders and over 22,000 delegates from across the globe come together in Glasgow to tackle climate change. The two-week conference resulted in nearly 200 countries signing up to the Glasgow Climate Pact, which reaffirmed the goal of pursuing efforts to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5°C.

Among the many successes of COP26 was its food strategy, devised and implemented by leading events and sports caterer Levy UK + Ireland. By placing sustainability at the heart of its work, the strategy set a clear example to the world as to how to promote environmentally friendly menu choices within the context of low-carbon, diverse and delicious offerings.

Insight & Idea

As a key pillar of the Levy UK+I business, sustainability has played an integral role in Diffusion’s campaign from day one, so COP26 represented an ideal opportunity to shed more light on the initiatives that Levy UK+I is implementing to safeguard the planet. In order to make offerings as eco-friendly as possible, Levy developed menus focused on plant-forward dishes, which accounted for around 60% of retail sales throughout the conference. The creation of carbon-labelled menus provided diners with insight into the environmental impact of all food offerings, which were comprised of local and seasonal produce to reduce the milage, in line with Levy’s air freight ban policy.

Diffusion worked with Levy to strategically promote its work at COP26 and raise awareness of the need for more informed decision making around the food being consumed at large scale events. Diffusion’s media strategy included media outreach at COP26 as well as thought leadership opportunities for key Levy spokespeople including newly-appointed Net Zero Lead, Kevin Watson, who provided key hospitality and sustainability media with insight into Levy’s industry-leading environmental targets.

Impact & Action

Diffusion’s campaign was strategically designed to target the hospitality and sustainability trade press read by key industry stakeholders, and resulted in a cover interview with The Caterer, as well as features and news coverage in the likes of Business Green, Public Sector Catering, Caterlyst, Hospitality & Catering News, Event Industry News and Contract Catering.