Plastic-Free

Our catering team is working towards a plastic-free approach by:

• Using compostable packaging for sandwiches, salads, soups, coffee and water cups
• Providing wooden cutlery
• Choosing plastic-free products wherever possible, such as Teapigs teabags
• Offering a discount to customers who bring their own reusable cup
• Working with suppliers who prioritise sustainable packaging, including SØDT Bakery, which delivers its products in rewashable containers that are returned for reuse

Any plastic items we do have are fully reusable, such as our durable polycarbonate glasses, which are used at events where glassware is not permitted in the auditorium.

Reducing Food Miles and Emissions

We minimise deliveries wherever possible and partner with suppliers who are actively reducing transport emissions.

• Soft drinks supplier Folkingtons now delivers monthly rather than more frequently. They source 44% of the fruit for their juices from the UK and are committed to reducing carbon emissions, food miles, waste and non-recyclable packaging.
• West Horsley Dairy supplies our milk using an electric vehicle that consumes 40% less fuel than conventional lorries.

Local Ingredients

Wherever possible, we source ingredients locally. All of our vegetables, for example, are supplied by Bryant Bros in Liss.

Waste Free Kitchen

We work hard to ensure nothing goes to waste. Surplus ingredients are repurposed into soups and desserts - leftover bread is transformed by our chefs into bread and butter pudding.

Using B Corp Certified Companies

Certified B Corporations are independently verified by B Lab as meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Several of our suppliers hold this accreditation, including:

• Marshfield Farm, who supply our ice cream
• Vegware, who supply all our plant-based compostable packaging

Decarbonisation

We prioritise suppliers who are aiming to reduce their carbon footprint, such as Bidfood, who supply us with all our ambient and store cupboard goods as well as our vegware packaging.

Plant Based

We always have a vegan plantbased option on the menu, including soups, breads, various dishes, ice-cream and cake.

Case Study - SØDT Bakery

SØDT, pronounced soot, is an artisan bakery in Petworth, West Sussex, supplying all our bread. We chose to work with SØDT not only because they are local, but also because of their strong environmental values:

1. SØDT use their own green suppliers. Their flour is supplied by Shipton Mill which is powered by 100% renewable energy and by Cann Mills which grows organic rye grain and mills with stones driven primarily by river water. Their eggs are supplied by Hallgate Farm, which is only one mile away from the SØDT bakery and produces high-welfare free-range eggs.
2. SØDT bake to order so there is very little waste. Rules prevent them from donating bread directly to their local food bank so instead they bake to order for their projects. When they do have excess bread their friends at Nelly’s Farm use it for their scotch eggs and, if there is more than they need, Westerlands regenerative farm collect it for their pigs.
3. SØDT provide their products with excellent sustainable packaging as all their products are supplied in rewashable containers which we return to them when they next deliver to us.

For more information, please see SØDT’s website.

Plans for the future include:

• Working with a locally based coffee supplier
• Replanting the herb garden outside the Maltings
• Baking our own cakes to further reduce packaging and transport emissions