Yurt Lush champions a sustainable approach to the way we operate, committing to constantly improving how we work and reducing our impact regionally and globally. We built our business with a ‘field to fork’ ethos, aiming to work directly with local producers and suppliers as much as possible to reduce supply chains and cut out the middle man.
Beyond supporting local food systems, we aim to consistently review our overall operations. We want to ensure we’re acting consciously and making changes where we can to make a positive contribution to the catering industry.
We have laid out our standards below, split into three areas: sourcing, operations and community. These will be reviewed annually to measure our success and where we might be able to improve.
SOURCING FOOD
1. All eggs should be free range and sourced within 35 miles
2. All meat and fish should be traceable – if unsure you must ask the supplier
3. Our supply chain should always favour local and seasonal produce wherever possible
4. At least 50% of meat should come from farms within a 100 mile radius
5. All pork and poultry should be free-range as a baseline and organic where possible
6. All beef and lamb should be pasture reared and organic where possible
7. All milk should be organic and sourced within 30 miles
8. All cheese should be from UK farms, with 10% sourced from local farms within 20 miles
9. Never use fish on the Marine Conservation Society ‘Fish to Avoid’ list http://www.fishonline.org/fishfinder?min=5&max=5&fish=&avoid=1
10. Fruit and vegetables must be sourced from the UK wherever possible and any fresh produce being imported must be European and shipped rather than air freighted where available
11. Bread and cake products should be sourced from local producers
DRINKS
1. Coffee should be of single source origin and use a direct trade or Fairtrade model
2. Decaffeinated coffee should be organic
3. Milk alternatives should be organic
4. Drinking chocolate should be Fairtrade
5. Black, green and herbal teas should be organic and Fairtrade
6. The wine list should include at least one organic or English wine
7. 25% of our soft drinks should be locally sourced
8. Sugar should be Fairtrade and sourcing should favour beet and UK produce where possible disposables
DISPOSABLES
1. Recycled versions of paper products and packaging should be ordered where available
2. All disposables sourced should be compostable, including straws
3. Low impact or ecological cleaning products should be sourced operations waste
WASTE
1. All waste must be appropriately separated into food waste, mixed recycling and glass. General waste must only be used for items that cannot be recycled
2. Waste items should be upcycled / used creatively where possible. For example, catering tins can be used for herb planters and wine coolers
3. Waste volumes must be monitored quarterly and any increases addressed
4. Customers are encouraged to take home their leftovers to reduce plate waste
5. Customers are encouraged to take home our coffee grounds
6. Customers must be offered a discount on hot drink purchases if they bring a reusable cup with them
7. The venue must be ‘zero landfill’ with all general waste going to RDF facility energy
ENERGY
1. The venue must be on a green energy tariff from a local provider
2. Sinks must not be filled past the maximum fill line during prep and wash up and water must not be run continuously
3. Gas burners must not be on between use
4. Use of electric must be monitored daily so there is nothing in use unnecessarily
STAFF
1. All our staff are given contracts
2. We commit to minimum number of regular weekly hours for all staff
3. All staff are paid the same starting wage regardless of their age
4. All tips are distributed evenly between the Front of House and Back of House staff, based on their hours
5. We recognise the contribution of our staff members through an ‘Employee of the Month’ scheme local community
LOCAL COMMUNITY
1. Accept the Bristol Pound local currency to support the local economy
2. Designate at least one charity partner annually with an aspiration of raising £200-500 in funds through promotions in house
3. We offer our venue to community groups for use without charge to support networking / community action targets
TARGETS - FOOD
Remove palm oil from the supply chain by 2020
Make the menu 75% vegetarian / 25% meat based by December 2018
Increase % of organic meat on the menu to 40% by 2020
We aim to use less popular cuts of meat to support ‘nose to tail’ dining
TARGETS - ENERGY
Reduce overall electric usage by 10% by 2020
TARGETS - WASTE
Reduce food waste by 10% by December 2018
Reduce general waste by 20% by December 2018
Reduce supplier packaging by 10% by December 2018
TARGETS - COMMUNITY
Increase funds raised annually for charity partners to a minimum of £1000 by 2020