Fish City achieves prestigious Green Tourism Gold Award
We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the highest recognition from Green Tourism, an internationally respected eco-development programme and accreditation scheme for businesses.
We join a select number of venues in Northern Ireland to hold the Gold Award, including Queens University and the Maritime Belfast Trust.
To achieve this, we had to evidence our commitment to sustainability across all areas of our operations, including how we mitigate and manage our waste, energy and water consumption, what we are doing to map and reduce our carbon emissions, and how we engage with the community to promote awareness of environmental issues.
Fish City is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, an international non-profit organisation that recognises and rewards efforts all across the supply chain to protect our oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future.
The island of Ireland’s first Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified restaurant, we source our cod, haddock, and hake from MSC-certified sustainably sourced fisheries, with the rest of our fish and seafood responsibly sourced and rated high for sustainability, many of these species sourced from local fisheries and aquaculture farms within 50 miles of Belfast.
Fish City participate in numerous community initiatives including Ulster Wildlife’s Sustainable Fish Cities NI, the Belfast Sustainable Food Partnership, local beach cleanups, and donating hot meals for the homeless. We run a free educational Kids Club for schoolchildren to experience our local seafood industry and learn about seafood sustainability. Within the restaurant, environmental initiatives include running a robust waste management system, filtering fats and oils from our outgoing water, and promoting biodiversity with our pollinator-friendly Terrace planting and rooftop garden.
At Fish City’s Kids Club, local schoolchildren learn about different species of locally caught and landed seafood at St George’s Weekend Fish Market before taking part in a hands-on seafood sustainability workshop at the restaurant.
Grainne Lavery, owner of Fish City, commented: “From the very beginning, sustainability has been central to what we do here at Fish City. We want to lessen our impact on the environment across every aspect of the business, at the same time engaging with our guests and local communities, elevating our sector, and promoting Belfast and Northern Ireland globally as a sustainable destination. We are humbled by this recognition from Green Tourism and so proud of what our welcoming, forward-thinking, and diverse team have achieved.”
Green Tourism promote greener ways for businesses and organisations to operate, advising members on best practices for energy and water efficiency, eco-friendly waste disposal, ethical procurement, minimising food miles, promoting biodiversity, and adopting a sustainable outlook from top to bottom. The Green Tourism awards certification programme recognises the commitment of businesses which are actively working to become more sustainable, with their Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards acknowledged worldwide as an indicator of good environmentally-friendly practice.
Euan Haggart, Environment and Sustainability Assessor at Green Tourism, commented: “Fish City have done an excellent job of achieving a Gold Green Tourism Award. Their genuine pleasure in running and promoting a sustainable business is evident. Their continuing efforts to extol the benefits of sustainably harvested seafood to their customers, especially young people are to be commended. The high score in biodiversity, which is never an easy task with a city centre business, is excellent. This demonstrates the commitment that the team at Fish City has to making the area surrounding their business a haven for wildlife, but also in a wider context through their procurement.”
Moving forward, we remain committed to continual progress on our green journey and to developing and implementing solutions that minimise the environmental impact of our activities. We are looking to switch to paraben-free and organic hand soaps and to improve our water management systems for better water efficiency. To reduce our carbon footprint, we are also looking to harness heat generated through our extraction systems for use throughout the premises.
For more information about Fish City and our sustainability initiatives, please visit www.fish-city.com/sustainability
About Fish City: Fish City is an award-winning sustainable seafood and fish and chip restaurant located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a focus on innovative cuisine and community engagement, Fish City strives to create memorable dining experiences while leaving a positive impact on the planet.
About Green Tourism: Green Tourism is a world leading certification provider that works collaboratively with destination stakeholders and strategic partners to create top down, bottom up change. Green Tourism provide manageable ways for tourism and hospitality businesses to adopt more sustainable activities.