SUSTAINABILITY AT THE SUSHI CO.
SUSTAINABILITY AT THE SUSHI CO.
FRESHNESS SHOULDN’T COST THE EARTH
We’re a growing business on a journey to get more people to enjoy handmade sushi, not just in the most authentic fresh way, but also the most sustainable way we can. From our supplier’s fish farms to our own kitchens we work hard to make sure we’re doing our bit to source sustainably, reduce our energy use and prevent food waste.
Like any business we are always looking to improve, always challenging ourselves and our partners to think about positive change. So, while we’re honest enough to say we’re not perfect just yet we’re also committed enough to say we’re on a journey to getting there. So, when you order with us, you’ll have peace of mind that we’re doing more than most – giving back to the community we serve and only taking what we need, and nothing more.
THE TEAM
Inside our Live Sushi Kitchen and throughout every store is the founding entrepreneurial and inclusive spirit, one of the key ingredients in the successful story of the brand so far. Our senior team have decades of collective experience delivering award winning service to customers across the country with diverse and empowered teams sourced directly from the communities they proudly serve.
LOOKING AFTER OUR OCEANS
Our responsibility to our customers is to provide them with the freshest, most flavourful sushi on the high street. When it comes to our responsibility to looking after our oceans, we only work with fish suppliers who are accredited by accredited global bodies as businesses doing their bit to fight the growing problem of overfishing via implementing sustainable practices during every step of their fish farming.
MADE TO ORDER, NOT MADE TO WASTE
Unlike other High Street operators who fill their fridges with pre-made sushi rolls and sandwiches when you come through the doors of any of our stores, you’ll be met with a fridge full of…drinks. That’s because we make made to order sushi, only selling what our customers order which means we’re not throwing away what wasn’t sold. That keeps our food waste on customer orders very low.
We analyse and optimise our menu regularly from a portion size, dish mix and overall item popularity meaning we’re only filling our kitchen fridges and freezers with ingredients that will get used. As we collect more data, we will be in a position to set measurable food waste targets for our supply chain to operate within, and our stores to meet.
PACKAGING: COMMITED TO DOING MORE
Efforts to make our packaging and restaurant collateral more environmentally responsible is one area that is most noticed by our customers. We’ve more to do, we know that, but we’re pleased of the progress we’ve made since opening our first store in 2022.
Our packaging range does currently contain plastic but only on serving trays and lids, which can be cleaned and reused. We use fully recyclable paper cups, bowls and bags and our cutlery is made from Birchwood, our chopsticks made from bamboo. Where possible our packaging is multi-purpose across the menu and we are always challenging our chefs to create their new creations using the existing packaging suite. We also challenge our restaurant managers to supply data on packaging numbers to allow analysis which helps us to make smarter purchasing decisions in the future.
Investing in our restaurant estate for the greater good is being seen with the rollout of digital ordering kiosks, replacing the need for physical menus on every table in each of our stores. That’s a lot of tables and chairs which means a lot of paper saved once we’re done!
FOOD WE’RE PROUD TO SERVE
We’re committed to serving the freshest sushi and other iconic Southeast Asian food possible to our customers. Our long-term relationships with our suppliers mean we work closely to improve transparency and traceability of everything we source from our fish farmers’ hatcheries and land farmers’ fields.
We review our ingredients regularly to make sure that our offering promotes globally-recognised environmental, social, and governance goals. Here are some examples of the lengths we go to with our trusted partners and suppliers:
Our Salmon are hatched, reared and fed high-quality low antibiotic feed in Scottish waters Our hatcheries carefully manage water quality, oxygen levels, temperate and light to ensure the maintenance of excellent conditions to grow the healthiest, largest salmon possible.
The tuna we seek and serve in our Live Sushi Kitchens are from both high quality and forward-thinking fish farms who are regularly assessed by the Marine Stewardship Council meaning the fish we seek are amongst the best choices to serve to help support global efforts against overfishing.
We source our prawns from 4-star fish farms as certified by the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). This is the highest certification and guarantees quality and care has been taken throughout the fish farming process.
Our rice producers across the globe are continually seeking solutions to growing better quality crops without impacting the environment, including innovations designed to reduce methane emissions during the drainage period.