Vegan businesses in Worcestershire bag award for ditching the plastic

Published by

Nicky Godding

Photo caption (L to R) Lindsey Clode of As One Vegan Lifestyle, and Jude Green of Green's Vegan Café receive their Plastic Pledge awards from Councillor Tony Miller

Two businesses have been rewarded for their efforts to reduce plastic usage by Worcestershire County Council.

Plastic Pledge certificates were handed to Green's Vegan Cafe and As One Vegan Lifestyle, which are both based in Stourport at joint premises known as The Vegan Hub.

The certificates were presented by Councillor Tony Miller, Cabinet Member for the Environment.

"These certificates continue to be a fantastic way to thank the people across the county, who are committed to reducing their plastic usage,” Mr Miller said.

"It was a real honour to present Jude and Lindsey with their awards and recognise all the good work they do to reduce plastics at the Vegan Hub.

"It's great to see all the innovative changes and talk to local businesses and communities about the commitments they're making to reduce in their everyday life, and this scheme is a real celebration of that."

The first Plastic Pledge awarded was given to GreenApe, the pedal powered smoothie bike business, founded by Andy Taylor. The scheme was introduced by Worcestershire County Council to recognise local businesses and people within their local communities who have committed to reducing their single use plastics.

Green's Vegan Cafe is run by Jude Green. It's a vegan café run from inside the Vegan Hub. All the catering offered there is served in compostable or recycled packaging. At events, biodegradable plates and cutlery is used, paper plates and towels that are provided are all 100% recyclable.

After receiving her award, Jude said: "I was really humbled to be nominated for a Plastic Pledge award. It's lovely to be recognised for the hard work that goes into making the Vegan Hub and its businesses successful.
"Showcasing the changes that can be made to run a green lifestyle is a real passion of both myself and Lindsey and has been for many years, and I'm so pleased that plastic reduction is something more people are becoming passionate about and committing to."

One Vegan Lifestyle ran by Lindsey Clode, again based in the Vegan Hub, is a vegan shop that provides vegan, organic and gluten free products, and several plastic-free alternatives to household objects including bamboo toothbrushes and coffee cups.

Lindsey added: "Receiving the Plastic Pledge award at an awareness event was a really fantastic experience, and a real acknowledgement of how far we've come in Worcestershire for raising awareness of the importance of reducing plastic usage."

Both companies received their certificates at a plastic awareness discussion evening in Kidderminster hosted by the Transition Kidderminster group.

To nominate a business for a Plastic Pledge award, organisation and individual for a Plastic Pledge certificate, email sustainability@worcestershire.gov.uk

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.