The George is a sustainability champion because they have shown commitment to running a sustainable business. They have shown that they are actively involved in energy reduction, waste reduction, sustainable procurement, as well as pushing for customer and team engagement to being sustainable.

The biggest investment John and the family have made is starting their own produce garden, growing a small collection of ingredients themselves, such as herbs, pea shoots and vegetables. By incorporating these ingredients into their menu, they’ve cut their carbon footprint – as well as getting their staff involved in the relaxation of gardening, as a break from the hustle and bustle of their tourist destination pub.

The George houses three letting rooms, which can add a lot of energy wastage, so staff members work with guests, asking them to turn off equipment when not in use. John makes sure all his staff are well educated on green actions, as well as including them in the fun!

John is most proud of the changes to their garden as it’s a great part of their pub and has become a talking point for the locals. The community gets involved too, bringing their own left-over food from their gardens for John to make different sauces, chutneys and jams from. Soon their garden will be levelled up by acquiring beehives for the field next door.

“Being situated in the Peak District it is really important that we help set standards for visitors to hopefully follow. Doing this process helps use unwanted goods for a purpose and also creates a talking point about zero waste. We only have a small community in our village and it has turned some of the locals into a little swap shop.”