Embracing Veganuary: An impactful start to your business year

Every January, thousands of people (706,695 in 2023, to be precise) kick off the year with a month-long commitment to eating vegan. Their motivations for completing Veganuary vary from eating better for the environment and their health, to animal welfare and simply changing up their diet. 

Likewise, there are many reasons for businesses ambitious about raising their ESG game to embrace Veganuary. Taking part in the plant-based challenge can set the tone for an impactful year ahead, putting you on track towards lower emissions and great employee wellbeing. 

Here’s why and how to bring vegan eats and values into the office for Veganuary 2024. 

 

 

Why embrace Veganuary?

Your environmental impact will go down

The stats say it all when it comes to why cutting out animal products is good for the planet. For every 100 participants who eat vegan for 31 days:

• 620 litres of water are saved. 
• 40.5 tonnes of phosphate are saved preventing eutrophication.
• 10.384 tonnes of CO2 saved.

Studies even show that eating a plant-based diet could be the single biggest way to reduce an individual’s environmental impact. 

Whatever the size of your workforce, getting all your team on board for a month of vegan eating will make a hefty reduction in your joint environmental impact. 

Your employee wellbeing will go up

For many of your employees, vegan food and drink at work won’t be out of the ordinary. More and more of us are opting for diets that skip animal products, at least some of the time, with millennials a key demographic when it comes to going vegan. Research from 2021 found that 36% of vegans are aged 25 to 34. 

So, a vegan initiative will no doubt align with the values many of the team already hold, making your workplace more inclusive. Connecting with your team through their values in this way is great for employee engagement, as we’ve previously written about. 

Turning Veganuary into a fun group challenge for the team also unites them in a shared experience. With January being a gloomy month for many, it’s the perfect time to introduce something that gives people that extra sense of team spirit and purpose. 

Your colleagues could even start to feel the health benefits of a plant-based diet, like increased energy and improved mood. Stick at it for the long term and this could bring business benefits too, with less sick days and higher productivity. 

Helping your brand stand out

Like anything that strengthens a caring approach to the environment and employee wellbeing, a vegan initiative is going to make your company more attractive to existing and future employees. On a similar note, it appeals to consumers, who are increasingly shopping with their values and supporting brands that take a stance on social issues. 

For these reasons, it’s not only a socially responsible decision to lean into veganism, but one that gives your brand positioning and PR a boost. The commitment to ESG will help you build up a positive narrative about your company and stand out among competitors.

 

 

How to bring Veganuary into the office

So, there are a bunch of reasons to launch a Veganuary initiative in your office. But what could this include? Here are some ideas to get you started. 

1. Make choosing plant-based easy

If you have on-site catering, then this is the obvious place to start, with a month-long vegan menu. And of course, plant-based milks for teas and coffees is a must-do swap. 

For boosts of motivation and gentle encouragement to eat plant-based along the way, stock up on vegan snacks for the canteen, staff shop or as a free treat when you feel sugar and commitment levels are dipping. We recommend Island Bakery’s Sweet FA Cookies, Nourish’s Cacao Coconut Cookies and Raw Halo and Tony’s Chocolonely’s chocolate bars. 

2. Big up the social side of Veganuary

Don’t go too heavy on the ethics and ESG targets around your Veganuary initiative. Yes, it’s important to understand the issues of veganism. But you’ll win more people over if you amp up the social angle of the challenge instead. 

This is a chance to bring people together over a shared cause. Get everyone involved, senior management included, and organise a team dinner or lunch at a local vegan restaurant. 

3. Look to the experts

Back up your Veganuary initiative and engage the team with some expert advice. Plan an event in the office with a vegan nutritionist, who can talk about the benefits of eating plant-based as well as sharing recipes and meal planning tips. 

It’s likely you already have plant-based enthusiasts in your team. Veganuary is the perfect time for them to establish a vegan employee resource group, to keep the momentum going beyond January.

4. Think beyond food

For many, veganism is about removing animal products from all aspects of your life, not just your food and drink. Are there other areas where your office can embrace veganism? Think vegan-friendly furniture, merchandise, even your investment practices. 

5. Make a long-term plant-based pledge

While the Veganuary buzz is strong, it’s the ideal time to make a longer term plant-based pledge. This might look like turning every company event vegan, or removing animal ingredients from your products. 

 

Useful guides for a vegan workplace

The Veganuary Workplace Challenge 2024 guide is an excellent resource, packed with heaps more ideas for kickstarting your initiative and getting everyone involved.

The Vegan Society has comprehensive advice for supporting vegans in your workplace, while Vegan Leaders in Corporate Management has a playbook dedicated to planning a successful initiative.   

 

Food for thought from COP28

The outcomes of COP28 were underwhelming, to say the least. But look beyond the big headlines and negotiations and there were things to get excited about. 

One of those was the catering, which the organisers got on point, serving up a “1.5C-aligned menu” and inspiration for us all. Part of wider efforts to make the summit carbon neutral, two-thirds of all food was plant-based or vegetarian. When you consider that around 250,000 meals were served there each day, it was no doubt a massive feat in climate-conscious catering. 

As well as being on everyone’s plates, vegan food was being bigged up in discussions about sustainable food systems at the summit. There was talk of the need for more plant-based proteins and less dependency on animal agriculture, while a new Plant Based Treaty report was launched. 

As this suggests, plant-based solutions are sure to be part of fixing up our food systems. So getting on board with the vegan movement now is a smart move for forward-looking businesses.

Ready to bring Veganuary into the office? Speak to us about vegan food and drink options and impact storytelling, to make all your team feel involved in creating ripples of change.