Due South
Environmental awareness has always been the forefront of business at Due South, says green director Victoria Shenton.
“The majority of food is sourced locally to minimise our carbon footprint and support local trade,” she says. “We choose the very best organic, free range and biodynamic ingredients from small independent producers within Sussex. Due South is also extensively involved in re-using, recycling, and supporting local educational and community projects.”
Delivering an environmentally friendly and ethical service is something everyone at Due South is passionate about, and it goes much further than the usual lip service to green issues. They aim to source at least 80% of their food from within a 35 mile radius of Brighton beach, and often undertake farm visits to ensure high standards of animal welfare and natural farming methods. Any food that can’t be sourced locally, such as chocolate, is Fair Trade.
Victoria says: “We have a close relationship with the local fish supplier and are very conscious of what fish is sustainable. Likewise our wine, beer and soft beverages are sourced in the UK and Europe. We try to keep things as ‘in house’ as possible such as doing our own laundry (as there is a lot!) and baking our own bread from local flour.”
Due South were the first restaurant to bottle their own filtered water and take a £1 donation which goes towards funding clean drinking water projects across the globe. They recycle their cooking oil and compost green waste. Community work has seen them sourcing salad from a Stanmer Organics growing project and donating a shed to Patcham High School allotments.
Victoria says: “Overall we are proud of our attitude towards doing good business that has a positive impact on the environment and the local community. We aim to continually improve our eco credentials and keep up to date with what is available to us to enable us to practice as an ethical company. The food industry has such an impact on sustainability so recognising what we can do as a company is really important to us and our customers. “
