As we approach our BCorp anniversary on 23 August, we’ve been reflecting on the progress we’ve made since we began measuring our impact in 2019.

Measuring our environmental and social impact remains one of the most important things we do. We continue to track everything from water and electricity use to renewable energy generation, biomass heating, food waste composting and carbon sequestration. Without measuring, we cannot know whether the changes we are making are genuinely working or where we need to improve.

Over the years, we have achieved many of the targets we set ourselves, including reducing resource use from our baseline year. But as the business has grown, we have realised that the next stage of our journey is not simply about using less - it is about using our resources more efficiently. We are therefore beginning to measure our environmental impact alongside the level of activity across the business, giving us a more meaningful picture of whether we are becoming more sustainable over time.

We are also developing a clearer picture of our social impact by recording educational visits, community activities and the number of people taking part. Since launching the Garlic Lovers’ Garden in March, we have welcomed and inspired more than 400 people through educational visits, volunteering opportunities and community events. We have also produced more than 500kg of organic produce for our restaurant and converted nearly one tonne of raw food waste into nutrient- and microbe-rich compost for our soils.

This year, our solar panels generated 140,730 kWh of renewable electricity, up from 106,621 kWh last year, while 6.8% of our sales came from organic products - another important step towards our long-term organic transition.

Being a B Corp is about continual improvement and a shift in mindset. Measuring our impact gives us the evidence to celebrate our successes, recognise our challenges and keep asking how we can do better for people, the planet and our community.