A woman in a brown dress and a man in a green jacket stand in front of a large projector screen. People sitting at round tables are watching.
Picture of Ivanka Majic

Sustainability workshop, next steps for the sustainability toolkit

Communicating your sustainability story

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made our first Sustainability Workshop a success!

This workshop was planned as a follow-up to the roundtable we hosted in July. In July, we focused on how to make the most of the toolkit we had just launched. This time, we took stock of what we’ve achieved so far and looked ahead to what’s next. A major focus was helping venues communicate their sustainability story effectively to their customers.

A woman in a brown dress and a man in a green jacket stand in front of a large projector screen. People sitting at round tables are watching.

What We Have Done

  1. Created a Sustainability Toolkit packed with case studies and useful links to help venues improve their sustainable practices.
  2. Launched a Sustainability Checklist for venues to assess where they are on their sustainability journey.
  3. Designed, printed, and distributed window stickers for venues that have completed the checklist, identifying them as a Sustainability Explorer, Leader, or Champion.
  4. Built a Sustainable Restaurants page featuring venues that have completed the checklist.

At the time of writing, 32 venues have completed the checklist and been added to the page.

What’s Next

Over the next six months, our priority is to promote the Sustainable Restaurants page, helping more customers discover these venues and their sustainability efforts.

At the workshop, we also had a lively and practical session led by Robb Cunningham from the University’s Clean Growth Platform. We tackled two common challenges in sustainability communication:

  • Greenwashing – Overstating sustainability claims, whether intentional or not.
  • Greenhushing – Hesitating to share sustainability efforts due to a fear of getting it wrong.

A white man with dark hair wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans is standing in front or a large projector screen. People are sitting at round tables watching

Many venues are doing fantastic things but feel unsure about how to talk about them. This workshop aimed to build confidence in sharing real, meaningful actions.

We heard inspiring stories of venues clarifying cocktails to avoid wasting the last dregs of tomato juice cartons, working with amazing local farmers, ordering zero-waste produce, and even explaining composting toilets to children.

There is so much good stuff happening, and we all need to get better at sharing it – so others can learn, adopt great practices, and build on them.

Get Involved

  • Complete the checklist – Get your sticker, be added to the Sustainable Restaurants page, and be in the entered in the BRAVO Sustainability Champions category.
  • Share your story – Pick one sustainable action you take and talk about it—on your website, social media, or even a poster in your venue. Don’t greenhush!
  • Join a course – Robb runs a free, one-day Net Zero course. It’s a great way to deepen your sustainability knowledge—go for it!
  • Save the date – We’ll be getting together again on July 1st (or thereabouts). We’d love to see you there!

The more venues that get involved, the stronger our collective impact will be. Let’s aim to grow from 32 to 60 venues—and beyond!

Special thanks to all the attendees: Embers, La Choza, Baked Hove, The Urchin Pub, Jolly Sportsman, Brighton and Hove Council, Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, Recorra, Casazul, Terra at Tottington Manor, Bonsai Plant Kitchen, Climate:Change, Majahma, Uber Eats, Hotel du Vin, Woodfire Camping, Sussex University, Simon Webster Hair, University of Brighton, Restaurants Brighton, Woodhouse Butchery, Nostos, Fourth and Church, Alliance Southeast

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