Their fervent passion for making this traditional pub, which dates back to 1543 and is a BII Sustainability Champion, as sustainable as possible shines through and they are always researching and activating new ways to improve the George’s sustainability initiatives further.
Waste management
From investing in their waste management system Ecobot ‘Greedy George’, which transforms food waste into a compost additive to help grow wonderful produce for its menus, cultivating seeds for its extensive kitchen garden and no dig allotment in juice cartons or utilising beer line cleaning chemicals for urinal cleaning, the Judsons are an inspiration to other publicans with the practical, accessible practices they have embraced in their business.
John and Vicky, who have developed an extensive kitchen garden and ‘No Dig’ allotment on land near to the pub which supplies lots of the pubs’ produce, have also inspired a wonderful team and customer culture around sustainability which helps them to continue to reduce the pubs’ carbon footprint.
Initiatives include many locals swapping excess produce they have grown for pints, with the George’s talented team always finding ways to utilise this produce including making jams, chutneys, sauces, sorbets, cider vinegar, flavoured liqueurs and chewy fruit leather.
Impactful initiatives
Other impactful initiatives at the George, which is a Wells & Co tenancy and was also recognised as a PubAid Sustainability Champion for 2024 & 2025, include having eco-friendly powdered soap Snoap in the pub’s toilets and guest rooms and John crafting a range of goods in a solar-powered workshop to sell to tourists and locals looking for gifts.
Items include serving dishes made from the pubs’ empty wine bottles and lip and beard balm, using ingredients from the kitchen garden.
