The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) build on decades of work by countries and the UN. They are a blueprint for peace, prosperity and longevity for people and the planet, both now and for the future. There are seventeen SDGs that encourage thoughtful strategies and actions around important aspects such as ending poverty, tackling climate change, reducing inequality and improving health.

For us, that meant selecting the SDGs that were most relevant to Flat Earth as listed below in the hope that we will help to encourage meaningful action that positively impacts this global agenda.

The Decade of Action calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to all the world’s biggest challenges by 2030. We are only a small company in the early stages of our journey but have started as we mean to go on. We strive to be the best we can be but acknowledge that there is a lot more we can do.

SDG AIM:

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

What we do

• Work directly with growers at Forty Hall Organic Farm in Enfield, North London, who provide us with hyper-seasonal vegetables

• Buy locally, where possible

• Work with growers and suppliers who prioritise soil health through regenerative agriculture and organic farming

• Ferment and pickle lots of veg to preserve it for longer (as well as creating interesting flavours and enhancing gut health)

• Do our best to use the whole of the plant, adopting a root-to-shoot philosophy

• Our pizzas are deliberately the perfect size for one person so it doesn’t feel gluttonous or unachievable to eat it all. We offer takeaway boxes to anyone who might want to enjoy the rest at home

• Regular food waste audits to work out where it comes from and how we can reduce it

• Support small producers who produce high quality produce, such as Gilchester’s, Wildfarmed and Club Cultured

• Are a collection point for Growing Communities’ (GC) organic veg collection scheme for the community. For a small weekly fee to GC, people can eat the best seasonal produce available from small, organic farms in and around London. Growing Communities are a small social enterprise with big ambitions for a fairer, more resilient food system producing quality nutritious food for generations to come

SDG AIM:

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all times.

WHAT WE DO

• Help consumers adopt healthier lifestyles by offering meat-free meals lower in saturated fat and full of veg.

• Use organic, heritage grain flour for our dough - this means it hasn’t been modified for mass market, hasn’t been in contact with pesticides and retains the fibre aiding good digestion

• Ferment and pickle lots of veg to encourage the microbiome in the gut to thrive.

• Offer dairy-free cheese so any of our pizzas can be free of any animal products.

• Use English rapeseed oil in our cooking not only because it’s local but because it’s a polyunsaturated, healthier fat instead of oils with a high saturated fat content such as lard, palm oil, ghee or butter.

• Are committed to supporting our team - especially when they are facing challenges or problems either at home or at work. Flat Earth is a member of Hospitality Action’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). This well-being programme provides independent, expert, support and advice 24/7 to those who need it

SDG AIM:

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

WHAT WE DO

• Strive for sustainably sourced key commodities such as the paper we print menus on

• Use eco-friendly washing up liquid and other environmentally friendly cleaning products to reduce impact on the environment

• Generate energy from food no longer fit for consumption by giving it to First Mile who transform it into biogas for the generation of gas and electricity. This process also creates nutrient-rich fertiliser that goes back into UK soil, ready to grow more crops - closing the loop

• We are a clingfilm free kitchen. We ask for suppliers to deliver in plastic-free packaging, where possible

• Recycle our spent coffee grounds via Envar who transform waste coffee grounds into innovative, sustainable end products

• Always careful in our water usage and don’t let taps run

• Talk about our sustainable practises and what we learn along the way in order to inform and inspire others.

• We are proudly zero-to-landfill meaning our small amount of general waste gets collected by First Mile and gets incinerated generating green energy that goes back into the Grid, instead of being dumped

• Wine on tap poured from refillable kegs. The importance of these kegs being refilled and used time and time again is huge - it reduces the carbon footprint by 30% compared to a glass of wine poured from a single use keg.

• Recycle all our wine bottles for refilling and botanical blends. Empty bottles are collected, sanitised and refilled, creating a closed circular economy.

SDG AIM:

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

WHAT WE DO

• Created a vegetarian pizza brand that enabled people to choose more meat-free meals throughout their normal week without feeling like they are missing out on any of the flavour, nutrition or satisfaction that they normally associate with animal based dishes. In the UK, a switch from the “average diet”, which is rich in meat and dairy, to a nationally recommended diet, which includes more fruit, vegetables and nuts, could cause food-related emissions to fall by up to 17%.*

• Source our ingredients locally, where possible, including working with commercial foragers and changing the menu regularly to reflect the seasons and what’s available, thus reducing our carbon footprint by omitting air miles from importation.

• We support Sustain - an industry association championing responsible food.

• Generate energy from food no longer fit for consumption by giving it to First Mile who transform it into biogas for the generation of gas and electricity. This process also creates nutrient-rich fertiliser that goes back into UK soil, ready to grow more crops - closing the loop.

• We are proudly zero-to-landfill meaning our small amount of general waste gets collected by First Mile and gets incinerated generating green energy that goes back into the Grid, instead of being dumped.

• Some of our recipes have been awarded the HPHP mark for their exceptionally positive carbon and health rating, demonstrating our efforts in being more sustainable and helping customers make conscious buying choices. Delivered by Sustainable Kitchen Consultants, sustainability and nutrition experts, Healthy People Healthy Planet assesses the carbon and health impact of food using a methodology reviewed by nutritionist experts in a leading UK academic institution and which aligns with the GHG protocol.

  Click here to find out more! '

*Carbonbrief.org