Our Impact

Welcome to Jazzbourne.

We are aiming to be an ethical and sustainable venue.

Though we be but little, we try to make socially & environmentally responsible choices. 

We hope to be a force for good.

Our bar menu showcases big-hearted brands that are trying to make the world a better place. They are environmentally friendly, or support a worthy cause, or give back to their community… or all of the above. 

Where possible, we favour UK brands so that we can introduce you to delicious tipples made on your doorstep, support local & avoid the environmental impact of shipping drinks from afar.

Are we perfect? No. Being an environmentally and socially conscious small business is difficult, inconvenient and expensive. Wading through greenwashing and virtue-signalling to find genuinely ethical brands is time-consuming (and no brand is ever 100% perfect). And of course, ethical choices are often the least cost-effective. That’s why most venues don’t bother. We get it. 

But we hope we can prove it’s possible in our small way… and maybe inspire you to do the same.

Here’s some of the ways we are trying to be as ethical as possible in our day-to-day running…

01

No throw-away garnishes

Most food waste in bars is unused perishables or uneaten garnishes. The lemon slice or lime wedge we’re accustomed to has a vast environmental footprint.  Unsustainably farmed, out-of-season and shipped from as far away as South Africa or Mexico, only to decorate our glass and be discarded. So we don’t much go in for citrus garnishes, or cocktails that need a lot of perishables like fresh fruit.  Thanks for understanding if your drink arrives with no garnish at all. And if it comes with an edible garnish, please eat it!

02

Straws & napkins

Our straws are made from wheat stems, the natural by-product of wheat harvests. They’re compostable, gluten-free, 100% natural and don’t go mushy like paper straws.   

Our cocktail napkins are certified carbon-neutral, made with FSC-certified recycled paper and can be recycled or composted.  

To save on straws and napkins altogether, we may not give you one automatically with your drink. But please do ask if you’d like one. 

03

Energy

Jazzbourne is powered by 100% renewable electricity from sun, wind and water. Though we would prefer not to use gas, we don’t have a choice in our rented premises so we Carbon Offset our gas boiler through Brighton-based charity Renewable World to help us minimise our environmental impact. 

04

LED Lighting

We have switched to all LED lighting to reduce our energy use. LED bulbs use up to 90% less energy than traditional light bulbs. 

05

Energy efficient fridges

Our back-bar refrigerators are the most energy efficient available, using 41% less energy than the next best, and refrigerants that can’t contribute to global warming or ozone depletion.

06

Refill, Reuse, Recycle

We obsessively recycle or reuse everything we can.  We favour brands and suppliers that helps us reduce or eliminate single use packaging. Many of the brands we stock have come up with innovative solutions to save on shipping weights or reduce packaging – like wineries redesigning their bottles to use less glass, breweries that have moved to lighter (infinitely recyclable) aluminium cans, or spirits companies that offer eco-pouch refills so we can re-use their pretty glass bottles.

07

Bin bags

The best solution for waste is avoiding it completely, but where that’s not yet possible at least our bin bags are biodegradable. They look like regular polythene bags, but have a bio-additive that makes them break down after 12 months. Even in landfill they will biodegrade into carbon dioxide, water and humus within 2-5 years.

08

Cleaning products & hand soap

Our cleaning products and yummy smelling hand wash is made by British company Bio-D in Hull. They use only ethically and sustainably sourced natural ingredients to make vegan, cruelty free, environmentally friendly products. Their packaging is 100% recycled and recyclable, and they have refill stations across London and the UK.

09

Toilet Paper

Most toilet paper comes from destroying virgin trees – 27,000 trees are cut down everyday! Our toilet paper is supplied by Who Gives A Crap, a social enterprise and certified B-Corp that makes toilet paper using 100% recycled materials in plastic-free packaging. As well as helping to reduce deforestation and single-use plastic, they donate 50% of their profits to charities working to improve access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation globally.

Our Future Goals

We are constantly trying to improve our social and environmental impact. Some of our ambitions for the future include reducing the bar’s ice consumption, finding ways to upcycle bar waste like coffee grounds, becoming zero waste and net zero carbon… or even better, carbon negative! And of course, as we grow we hope the venue will be profitable so that we can donate to charities and projects in our local community, as well as continue to enrich lives with Jazzbourne’s in-house programme of cultural activities.

Every ticket or drink you buy at Jazzbourne helps us towards these goals. So seriously, thank you.

Got suggestions? We’d love to hear them!