The Big Interview: Emma McClarkin OBE
With mounting costs for the sector, British Beer & Pub Association CEO Emma McClarkin OBE tells Jessica Mason about navigating ‘the new normal’.
On the other side of the frosted glass panes of UK pub doors lives not just a historical institution but the nation’s favourite drink. Those cask hand pulls and keg taps adorned with badges on the bars of the country’s pubs represent so many social freedoms.
The public house is a home for all. It is place where society comes together to relax and chat about the day. With each sip from a nonic glass, the world is set to rights. Discrediting the importance of beer and pubs is perilous. Just ask Emma McClarkin, who in September 2019 took over the role of CEO at the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) from Brigid Simmonds, who had been at the helm for a decade. Those shoes must have seemed big to fill. Yet, throw in Brexit negotiations and a global pandemic and the job became not just huge, but fundamental.
“In the brewing industry, we create more jobs than the distilling industry and wine industry put together in this country,” says McClarkin, explaining that she was approached by the BBPA to take on the role, with them essentially saying, “it’s got to be you”.
A fan of amber ale, McClarkin’s genuine love of beer and pubs is evident, as she notes how she’s keen on beers from both Bath Ales and Harvey’s Brewery from Lewes, East Sussex. She reveals that her job leading the BBPA was “made for me, in many ways”, insisting that she only chooses to work on things that she is genuinely passionate about.
As a British Conservative Party politician who served as a member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands region for 10 years before accepting the position with the BBPA, McClarkin was, as a spokesperson for international trade, already an excellent negotiator. “After politics, I was going to have to fall into one of my passions, and this role is absolutely that. It makes my job all the more meaningful,” she says. But just as she donned the proverbial hat, the pub and beer sector was suddenly thrown into crisis. Little did McClarkin know that she would become vital to an industry’s survival. In the past few years, what we’ve witnessed has been a completely changing landscape for beer in pubs. Everything in terms of legislation has had to move so quickly,” she explains. “The role I took on in November 2019 is very different from the one I actually ended up with. I was called on to steer and navigate the industry through Brexit, which at that point was the big crisis. Little did I know that an even bigger crisis (the Covid-19 pandemic) was just around the corner.”
Recalling those early moments, McClarkin remembers how it all unfolded in “a baptism of fire” just weeks after taking up office but observes how those challenges amplified “exactly why the BBPA exists”. “We are here to advocate on behalf of the industry, and make sure that its voice and its concerns stand out loud and clear. People felt very, very lost, and the BBPA really helped to give them the guidance and support they needed to get through the pandemic. I hope that we will continue to do so,” she adds.
However, she says “the crisis hasn’t come to an end”, and there is still “lots to negotiate”.
She explains: “We still need detail on the level of the cap as soon as possible, but we’re hopeful this will help thousands of business owners breathe easier in the coming months.”
The lobbying doesn’t end there, either. McClarkin believes that the industry is “facing very strong headwinds now with supply-chain pressures, price inflation, cost of living, and the energy crisis”. She admits: “It really doesn’t feel that we’ve stopped firefighting. We’ve been under this incredible tax burden for so many years. We need to make sure that we can bring that tax burden down to make these businesses viable for the future.”
She warns: “We need urgent relief on energy rates. Without it, businesses will fail. So everything else that we have been trying to do in keeping these businesses alive during the pandemic – in finding a pathway through to recovery and into sustainable growth – none of that will matter if the energy bill hikes sink those businesses.”
McClarkin hints that while the government needs to tackle rates and VAT, it must also “keep beer duty low”.
Her proudest moments involve the support that has been won for the sector so far. At a crucial time for beer and pubs, “maintaining that drumbeat and media attention” has been fundamental. “Throughout the crisis, we got more than £8 billion together in support for the sector, which recognised the role we play,” McClarkin says, pinpointing how significant that has been for the longevity of the industry.
However, as the nation gradually reemerged after the series of lockdowns, to news of a war in Ukraine and soaring energy costs, its resilience was further rocked last month by the news that Queen Elizabeth II had died, leaving Britain in a state of emotional volatility. It needs its pubs now more than ever.
“Along with the nation and the world, we were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” says McClarkin, pointing out that “her reign and duty to the country has been extraordinary, and on behalf of our members, we have passed on condolences to the Royal Family”. McClarkin also says the association will be working with the nation’s pubs and brewers to pay its respects in communities across the country. There is, she reveals, “no such thing as a normal day” at the BBPA.
When parliament is in session, there is regular engagement with politicians, following up with all government officials in the background, and preparing submissions. “Whether they’ve asked for consultations or not, we will keep putting them through,” she says. At the moment, she is very busy, she says, saying her job interconnects so many livelihoods that the organisation needs to keep listening to stay ahead and raise issues of pub and brewery businesses of all sizes.
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“The BBPA is a really broad church. We’ve got big players, we’ve got small players, we’ve got people with thousands of pubs. We’ve got people with a handful of pubs. So we represent the full size and scale of the industry. And it’s our job to be worrying about how we can create the best regulatory environment for their businesses to survive so that they can get on with running them,” she explains.
McClarkin says publicans and brewers need more recognition for what they offer local communities, that their businesses are much bigger than beer and more about hope.
“We’re doing all we can from our side of the industry, but we need the government to recognise the role that beer and pubs play, not only economically, but socially in those communities, and that pubs and brewers are key economic and social infrastructure assets which need to be maintained for society and communities. Without pubs we would all be poorer.”
McClarkin describes how the hardships breweries face are not going away, and the industry needs to be protected. She reveals how “hundreds of thousands of people have been calling for support and recognition for the pub, but it is really difficult for our brewers right now because their costs have gone through the roof. The prices of raw materials are going up, and the reality is that it’s a very complex situation.”
Pubs have, historically, supported the nation’s tourism industry too. Losing any of them is a huge loss for all. “I know that one of the top 10 things that people want to do when they come to the UK is go to a great British pub, and have a British beer,” she says, identifying how that element of Britishness is as revered and admired as it is quaint and historical.
The BBPA’s biggest wins of the past year
• Gaining additional support for the sector throughout the pandemic totalling over £8.2bn.
• Launching its EDI Charter and setting BBPA members on the road to net zero.
• Gaining recognition for beer as a low-volume alcohol drink of moderation, and Alcohol Duty reform that supports Britain’s pubs and brewers.
• The BBPA has become very agile as a team while managing the industry through one of the biggest crises it has ever faced, all while managing to lead and champion innovation and diversity in the sector, as well as sustainability and digital transformation.
• During McClarkin’s period of leadership, the BBPA has also increased its membership.
Despite all of its history, one of the best advancements has been recognising the beer and pub sector actively changing perceptions of women within the industry, and to this end McClarkin has played an essential role in moving things forwards.
“When you look at the makeup of our workforce in pubs it’s 54% women, so it’s really about trying to break the perception,” she says. “Lots of people love beer, not just men. It appeals to a multitude of people across the board.” In terms of representing minorities, the BBPA is committed to “looking forwards and being inclusive by investing in diversity and representing all people. This means making sure that we truly reflect that inside our businesses, as well as within our venues,” she adds.“The pub is the ultimate melting pot of everyone in society, and that’s why it’s so special.”
Another change since McClarkin took over as CEO has been the burst in growth from the no- and low-alcohol beer category. With the calibre of options growing in quality all the time, “the potential of that market is now vast,” she says. But rather than viewing it as a threat to the industry, she insists there is headroom for no and low to grow alongside other beer offerings in pubs. “We are looking to the future, and the competency of brewers who can now brew the tastiest non-alcoholic beers. The quality has gone up,” she admits, adding: “Some of them really stand up, and they’re refreshing drinks. I’m proud that we have that innovation in our sector because it is extremely difficult to brew beer with no alcohol and with the level of taste that our consumers expect, so I’m really excited about the future. I hope that we see more in venues soon, because giving people these new options is great.”
In terms of other plans, McClarkin reveals that there are “many other things that we want to achieve at the BBPA” and hints that it is “modernising” and “innovating” as well as “looking at electronic data interchange and sustainability and how we can green our industry even more than we already have done”.
She believes that one constant will be the incredible relationship that marries beer and pubs. She observes: “The beer and pub industry go together like hand in glove. They’re symbiotic. You can’t have a pub without beer, or it just isn’t a pub,” she adds: “It’s a unique relationship”.
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