At Banana Tree, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, and for the past few years we have made great strides to become more environmentally conscious in all aspects of our business, and we continuously look to improve our eco-friendly credentials.

Since introducing recycled cardboard containers for all the starters, main courses and sides consumed outside of our restaurants, we managed to reduce our plastic packaging usage by over 75% (in weight). We also replaced all our plastic cutlery with light wood ones, that we only supply on demand and our straws are compostable and made using sustainably sourced paper.

We have always had all our glass bottles recycled, as well as all our used oil, which is now converted into biodiesel. We are also working on reducing all packaging that come into the restaurants from our suppliers, as well as the amount of waste that goes to landfill. All our table mats, leaflets and menus are printed on FSC certified or recycled paper, and all our menus can be accessed through QR codes at the restaurants. Through our menu development, we have managed to greatly reduce food waste and are always delighted when our customers want to take home what they cannot finish!

All the electricity at our 9 restaurants and our Head Office is provided from renewable sources. We are also actively working on a program aimed at reducing our water and energy consumption at all our premises through gradually switching to 100% LED lightbulbs, energy-saving programmable timers for our equipment and lighting, and staff sustainability training.

In 2018 we went through our whole supply chain and cut out most products with ingredients originating from palm oil, including all food items and cleaning products. We now only use ingredients with no or only sustainably sourced palm oil guaranteed with Zero Deforestation. This was part of our commitment to our charity partner the Orangutan Appeal UK.

Since 2012, we have partnered with the Orangutan Appeal UK to help fund the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo. They help in the rescue of orphan baby orangutans and work to rehabilitate them to ensure they can later be released back into the rainforest. Orangutans are critically endangered due to the disappearance of their natural habitat, and our donations have funded various projects at Sepilok, as well as supporting the charity’s work against deforestation in Borneo. Each time you buy the Vegan Monks Noodles, we donate 25p to Orangutan Appeal UK.

To learn more about Orangutan Appeal UK and their work at Sepilok (and to get to know the cutest baby creatures you have ever seen!), have a look at their Discovery Planet series “Meet the Orangutans”!

Meet the-Orangutans Returns to Our Screens

Veganuary and sustainable eating: We have been a partner of Veganuary for the past 3 years, positively encouraging a reduction of meat consumption in an effort to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. Over 40% of our menu items are Vegan.