The Gloucestershire-headquartered firm claimed that the move was part of broader company aims to combat climate change and promote healthy eating.
Dale Vince, founder of the energy business, told the BBC: “We think our new plant-based cafeteria is a first, and proves that there’s another way to do things.”
While Vince might boast of having the UK-first fully vegan canteen, it is hardly the first time the business world has come up close and personal with veganism.
Read more: Ethical veganism as a protected belief
By 2019, LinkGraph, a tech firm in the US, made company events fully vegan. and staff could only consume vegan food when travelling. Education company CoursesOnline has previously experimented with one meat-free day a week in the office.
Elsewhere, companies like Johnson & Johnson, Ericsson, Lego, BMW and Allianz have their own vegan and plant-based employee resource groups.
But this isn’t to say that veganism isn’t a difficult area for businesses to wrap their heads around.
In 2020, an employment tribunal found that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief and protected by The Equality Act 2010.
It came after an employee was dismissed for gross misconduct after raising concerns about how their pension was invested, later claiming victory against the then employer, the League Against Cruel Sports, over where their pension was invested.
For worried practitioners, Kate Palmer, director at Peninsula, said that all vegans might not qualify for this protection.
Speaking to HR magazine, she said: “The courts termed an ethical vegan as someone who is moralistically orientated and opposed to all forms of exploitation of all animals. It may not apply to all vegans.”
But if an employer were to make their whole business vegan-centric, such as Ecotricity, John Hassells, employment solicitor at Deva Law, said they should be prepared for challenges.
He said: “You should let prospective employees know that this is part of your organisation's culture, while ensuring they know that all employees are respected and included at work.
“And be prepared to justify any policy.”
Indeed, Hassells continued that any changes such as Vince’s should be explained by senior leaders, role modelled with employees surveyed to see if changes are popular.
Read more: Prejudice towards vegans endemic in the workplace
That said, vegan or non-vegan harassment policies likely don’t need to be created, as this is already covered in discrimination and harassment laws.
Hassells added: “For employees who may not want to eat a vegan meal at work, provide a comfortable space in the canteen or elsewhere in the workplace, where they can eat, and make sure that the message of being tolerant extends to everyone. Not everyone wants to talk about what they’re having for lunch, and why.”
As it stands vegans are still a minority in the UK – circa 4% according to Statista data – and thus employers are more likely to have think of inclusivity in the other direction.
Lucy Kemp, employee experience consultant at Kemp&Co, told HR magazine that businesses can work on practical changes to ensure any inclusion activities move past lip service.
She said: “Ensuring vegan options are available at catered events, in the canteen, or even in the office snack cupboard, shows consideration.”
Kemp added that this inclusivity has to be embedded in the culture, meaning focusing on education about dietary and ethical choices and having zero tolerance for jokes at any employee’s expense.
She added: “These steps go a long way toward creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.”