Environmental
Peats Soil & Garden Supplies Environmental Sustainability Award
Winner: The Food Forest
A family run business established at Gawler in 1983, The Food Forest has devised and promoted a model for sustainable land use in semi arid agricultural areas. The business offers organically certified foods both raw and value added, education services, and specialised education in permaculture and eco-tourism. The Food Forest has made environmental and social impacts through biodiversity, air quality, soil erosion and through awareness raising and empowerment.
Judges Comments
A thriving food business based on the principals of permaculture, The Food Forest’s business practices and decisions are at all times guided by a sustainability ethic and integrated environmental practice.
The judges also found evidence of resource management applied by the business throughout and beyond its boundaries, for instance:
- Rehabilitation of adjacent public land;
- Re-establishment of native fauna; and
- Collaboration with other parties through mentoring and a variety of programmed educational events, marketing and supply chain connections.
Sophisticated use of benchmarking, performance measures and assessment of performance trends over time demonstrated that their business manages environmental, social and economic aspects of their operations to ensure environmental sustainability and business viability for the future.