Hampshire based Vitacress Salads (in Basingstoke & Deane) has won the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) Business Award for Sustainable Business – Environment, sponsored by the Environment Agency.

The judges commended Vitacress on their highly integrated approach to sustainability in their business. They achieved ISO 14001 in 2005. The company is striving for long-term sustainability leadership.

Vitacress Salads is a leading producer of organic and conventional fresh, prepared salads. The company operates a “follow the sun” philosophy, growing its produce outdoors on farms in Southern England, Portugal and Spain, requiring less pesticide and fertilizer input. Vitacress is unique in washing its salads only in pure spring water which is reused to grow watercress.

Vitacress Production & Technical Director, Steve Rothwell, said:

The reach and profile of the South East Business Awards represent a powerful platform from which to communicate our environmental credentials to customers and the local community - and being a winner is a great accolade to the efforts of all those staff that drive sustainability throughout the Vitacress operation.

Digby, Lord Jones, Minister for Trade & Investment, gave the keynote speech. He said:

The South East contains some of the country’s most exceptional businesses and these Awards are a great way of recognising the region’s achievements. I am particularly delighted these Awards have been designed to recognise sustainability as I firmly believe that business must constantly think about its place in this changing world if it wants to be truly successful.

For more information visit www.southeastbusinessawards.co.uk