Pioneer success stories – The Canteen
Interview with Joe, from The Canteen.
Tell us about your experience of being a Bradford Pioneer with Green Street:
“Our experience so far has been very positive! I wasn’t expecting the level of service and quality in regards to recommendations when I first signed up. At The Canteen, we already had a sustainability policy. I was expecting the recommendations to be along the lines of what I had already implemented. There were some great suggestions, however! The initial investigation has had a real positive impact on the business.
Since we have been a part of Green Street, we have been working with Able Roots who have massively impacted in reducing our food waste. Another recommendation we received was to join Too Good To Go. With these solutions combined, our waste has now gone down to 0%.”
Tell us about any savings you made:
“The Canteen is on the same electricity meter as the office next door. At times this means it is hard to see the impact overall on the cafe specifically.
That said, we are massively looking forward to the ‘Borrow* Bradford’ scheme and hopefully we will start to see savings made on eliminating or lessening the need to buy quite so many disposable cups!”
What could Green Street do differently?
“Green Street is primarily there to help people become more sustainable, so far we’ve had no negative criticism, but gained more awareness around sustainability and feedback.”
What advice would you give to other businesses wanting to go greener?
“It’s our duty as a business to help with building a sustainable future. I would advise people to research, and think about their children and their future. At The Canteen, we want to be able to show change to future generations, and to say that we’ve at least tried!
You can turn sustainability into your USP as a business. After all, Bradford is due to be the city of culture, so don’t get left behind stuck in the dark ages. We can show that we are a forward thinking, progressive city committed to environmental change and positive impact within the community. Change needs to happen, and now!”
