Cava released its first Impact Report last week, an overview of the company’s commitment and progress across the pillars of “heart, health and humanity.”
It’s a transparent look at some of the ways the Mediterranean chain approaches broad-stroke issues: the chain’s people; food and sourcing; and the impact on the planet.
Such reports are not new. Companies began posting them years ago as Corporate Social Responsibility initially. They then evolved to include more about sustainability—and then again as a gauge for investors about whether the company was meeting Environmental Social and Governance, or ESG, standards, which often included efforts to build diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
Today, however, the pressures are coming from conservative activists and President Trump, who oppose anything seen as related to DEI. In recent weeks, for example, both Cracker Barrel and Texas Roadhouse have faced allegations that DEI policies were discriminatory by a Trump-affiliated nonprofit.
The Trump Administration has also repealed or attempted to roll back regulations tied to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon reduction goals against which sustainability efforts are measured.
But for Cava, the report is designed to reflect the brand’s mission since the beginning, said Jenny Roberts, Cava’s senior director of sustainability and sourcing.
Because Cava is a values-driven company, she said, “This was really about codifying our vision and articulating how we embed our values into the work across the company.”
The report also offers details into business practices and strategies in 2024 that contributed to Cava’s performance. Here are a few tidbits:
On people:
Cava ended 2024 with 367 units and more than 10,000 employees.
The chain offers a host of benefits, including health, dental, vision and mental health insurance, as well as 401K, a stock purchase plan, early-wage options, commuter benefits, tuition discounts (at University of Maryland)—even pet insurance—as well as free and discounted food. Full-time workers can take up to four paid days off a year to volunteer in their communities.
The report, for example, outlines training programs designed to help workers grow their careers, which will be key as Cava pushes to reach 1,000 units by 2032.
Last year, Cava advanced or promoted more than 100 team members into greater leadership positions, such as GMs or area leaders, the report said.
Cava’s three founders came from immigrant families. Their parents worked in foodservice, and, at the time, benefits and development opportunities didn’t exist, said Roberts.
“So our founders embedded into the ethos of our company that this needs to be a place where we want to grow together and invest in our people,” she said.
Among the examples: A Shoulder-to-Shoulder program requires support center team members to work at their local Cava for at least a two-hour shift each quarter.
Roberts said she does it.
“It helps me understand what sort of challenges team members are facing,” she said. “Is the product coming in consistently with the right quality? And then it’s also great for brainstorming fodder for us, [asking] where do you think we can be more efficient? Where do you think we can be more sustainable in our operations, to have that live, real-time dialogue.”
Conversely, top-performing team members are nominated to come to the support center in Washington, D.C. once each quarter—an all-expenses-paid trip—where they can meet with leadership and suppliers, and be recognized in a town hall event. It gives restaurant-level staff a path for moving up the ranks.
Cava also has an Allies in Motion (AIM) program that serves as a team member resource group designed to encourage “allyship and inclusion.” Last year, the group hosted 38 events, sometimes with speakers, inviting team members to take on thought-provoking topics, like women’s history, disability and religious differences.
The message: All are welcome to the table.
“We do what we can to promote an inclusive culture through daily practices,” she said. “We have a very comprehensive anti-discrimination and sexual harassment policy, and then we have the Allies in Motion group.”
The purpose is “to understand what are the different walks of life that different team members come from,” she said. “It’s not exclusive in any way. It’s for anyone to join.”
And it’s voluntary.
“Our focus is really about celebrating who our team members are, who our guests are, and making sure that when you come to Cava, you understand that you are welcome at our table,” she said.
On food and sourcing:
The report outlines Cava’s commitment to sourcing sustainable ingredients, like “no antibiotics ever” beef and chicken, as well as beef and lamb with no added hormones. Cava’s black beluga lentils come from a collective of farms in Montana that practice sustainable agriculture.
The chain uses Manoli Canoli olive oil from Sparta in Greece, where at least one of the founders’ family is from originally. It’s a family-owned business and Cava has had a long-term relationship. (Roberts said she’s keeping a close eye on tariffs, but the company is working to manage pricing and the impact of those policies.)
In 2022, Cava was among the restaurant chains called out by Consumer Reports because of potentially toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in its to-go packaging. PFAS are used to make packaging grease resistant.
Now, however, Cava prohibits suppliers from intentionally adding PFAS, and Roberts said they do third-party testing to be sure.
The chain uses aluminum water bottles, rather than plastic, because they are reusable and more likely to be recycled.
And straws are made from a substrate from marine waste (seashells) that biodegrades in months—but they don’t get soggy or crack in drinks.
On the planet:
Reducing food waste—a huge producer of greenhouse gas—is a priority at Cava.
When new restaurants open, there’s often a lot of training and more food is produced than can be sold. So Cava organizes donations to food banks to prevent that food from ending up in landfills.
After an opening in Burbank, California, workers donated surplus food to a local nonprofit. | Photo by Lisa Jennings
In addition, Cava has partnered with the platform Too Good To Go, through which surplus food can be sold at a discount. A percentage of income is then donated to nonprofits dedicated to ending hunger or battling food waste, said Roberts.
Last year, 49 restaurants participated, and the company estimates 77,360 meals were redirected to people, rather than ending up as waste.
In addition, Cava recently signed on to work with the waste management company Rubicon to revamp and upgrade composting and recycling services. The availability of programs for recycling and composting can vary widely by jurisdiction, so creating a national initiative is challenging for a restaurant chain.
Cava, for example, is piloting a guest-facing waste station with signage to help consumers understand how to separate waste in restaurants so that more can be diverted from landfills.
It’s a modular system that can easily adapt to different markets where there may or may not be access to things like recycling or composting, Roberts said. Rubicon will help the chain determine what services are available and where.
The report also goes through Cava’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the chain’s ongoing shift to renewable energy sources.
“We do believe that measuring and mitigating our greenhouse gas emissions is our responsibility,” said Roberts. “It’s an obligation that we have to our shared future on this planet, and we are continuing to focus on driving energy efficiency.”
And the report also spotlights one unique project.
Around the company’s manufacturing plant in Verona, Virginia, where the chain's sauces and dips are produced, Cava has created a habitat restoration project on five acres. The goal is to restore a healthy ecosystem for native plants, animals and insects—a process that will take years, and has included planting trees, grasses and wildflowers.
Cava's natural habitat restoration project in Verona, Virginia. | Photo courtesy of Cava.
“We’re going to put in nature trails so it can be used almost like an education space for teaching future generations how to better care for our natural environment,” she said. “I think it’s a really great example of how we want to engage with communities and protect people, animals and local habitat everywhere we operate.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.