Vegware is Edinburgh’s Green Company of the Year

Vegware, the Polwarth eco packaging pioneers, have been named Green Company of the Year at the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Awards. The Edinburgh firm creates eco-friendly takeaway disposables which can be composted together with food waste, helping businesses go green and save money. All its UK customers together saved 260 tonnes of carbon in 2011 by switching to sustainable disposables.

Vegware is a local success story, founded by Edinburgh eco entrepreneur Joe Frankel. It started in 2006 with one product – cornstarch cutlery – and is now the UK market leader in certified compostable plastic-free catering disposables. Its 277 compostable takeaway packaging products are now used by individuals having a barbecue, local independent cafes and the UK’s largest contract caterers, and as far afield as the USA and South Africa. The fast-growing firm has trebled its turnover in three years, creating employment here in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s Deputy CEO, Graham Birse, was impressed by this home-grown eco success story. “We are hugely proud of Vegware – they are a low-carbon high-growth Edinburgh company, living proof that ethics and commercial success do mix. We are delighted to officially recognise Vegware’s contribution both to the local economy and to improving sustainability worldwide.”

During the dinner, Edinburgh’s business elite raised money for Radio Forth’s charity, Cash for Kids, which improves the lives of local children. Vegware’s lucky streak continued, with Business Development Manager Chris Murphy winning the raffle prize to be a zookeeper for a day at Blair Drummond Safari Park. Vegware’s own Community Fund gives regular financial support to ten different non-profits, including a children’s orchard in Leith and healthy eating cookery classes in Broomhouse.