The Falls Retreat, a restaurant and accommodation provider located in the Karangahake Gorge, has been announced as a contender for the Most Sustainable Small Business Award.
The Most Sustainable Small Business Award honours New Zealand businesses, with less than 20 staff, who have achieved extraordinary results through an environmental or sustainability project in the past 12 months.
The Falls Retreat has been recognised for their commitment to sustainability which includes their paddock to plate ethos supported by their extensive kitchen veggie gardens, waste management systems which include composting and recycling and their involvement in community initiatives including educational workshops for local schools and “Barter at The Bistro” where locals are encouraged to bring in excess produce in exchange for a coffee or two.
Co-owner Emma Walters said she is thrilled to be a finalist.
“Over the past seven years our Bistro, headed by Brad King, has been awarded various culinary awards, but this is the first time we have been recognized for our commitment to sustainability,” she said. “We have always adopted a natural approach to life and business – we try to live and work sustainably and do business ethically using local and home-grown products and with a focus on protecting the environment.”
The Falls Retreat has started sharing their knowledge of sustainable, organic practices by hosting educational workshops and gardening courses. Their environmental goal is to grow on the success of these recent workshops and offer a wider range of courses to promote sustainable practices to include such topics as bee-keeping, preserving and fermenting, seed saving and cooking from scratch.
Winners will be announced at the Beautiful Awards Gala Dinner in Auckland on Friday 26 October.
