Honey wins big at Sydney's Royal Easter Show
When Iskandar Ahmad, Key Account Manager for Restaurant Associates (RA) first pitched the idea of two beehives on the H.C. Coombs Centre rooftop in Kirribilli, Sydney, who knew it would turn into such a sweet victory. The honey produced recently won first prize at the 2023 Sydney Royal Easter Show National Honey Competition, being awarded 97/100, making them overall winners of their class, as well as winners to the entire Comb Honey category.
With two beehives in the Coombs Centre Garden – each with a Queen bee and 60,000 worker bees – the bee colonies help pollinate an area of up to 80km square around Kirribilli and produce honey for our chefs to use in the restaurant.
This award-winning honey is just a small part of how our RA team have adopted sustainable practices in the workplace. “The idea was first presented to our client as part of Compass Group’s and Restaurant Associates’ commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility,” shares
Iskandar. “The rooftop hives support us to integrate a sustainable mindset, minimising our carbon footprint, and it’s an opportunity for us to educate our team, our client and our customers on the importance of being sustainable.”
Our Planet Promise
This initiative, and many others, is how Compass Group teams nation-wide are getting involved to implement Compass Group’s Planet Promise commitment to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as well as carbon neutral operations worldwide by 2030.
“Not only do the hives help the environment but they have also been a great talking point to guests, demonstrating how little things make a big difference. It brings community connection to nature and our team is proud and happy to have such a positive impact, not only on the environment but on the overall health and wellbeing of our community.”
With sustainability a key focus, our Restaurant Associates team have implemented multiple initiatives to reduce waste and improve sustainable operations that benefit the environment. From installing a herb garden, to eradicating plastic bottles, takeaway containers and single use coffee cups across their operations, the team is passionate about promoting sustainable goods to protect the environment, tackling social problems and improving community facilities.
