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

Basingstoke-based vending services provider Selecta has secured a contract to provide vending services at the Port of Dover, the UK’s leading cross-channel ferry port, in Kent.

The Port of Dover was used by more than 14 million passengers, 2.8 million tourist cars, 105,000 coaches and 2.3 million lorries during 2006. As part of the agreement, Selecta will supply 13 machines offering vended hot and cold beverages and confectionery products at a number of locations including the port’s travel centre, freight centre, arrivals hall and coach and passenger lanes.

Selecta has also introduced Project Apple at the port, a consumer-driven vending concept featuring Selecta-branded can and bottle vending machines which gives the flexibility of offering a variety of brand leading products across the soft drinks sectors. Selecta sales and marketing director Jonathan Barr:

We are delighted to be working with the Port of Dover – England’s gateway to the Continent with millions of holidaymakers and businesspeople passing through it each year.

Selecta has considerable experience serving the transport and travel sector where we provide vending services to customers at airports, railway stations and at roadside locations throughout the UK.

Once the world’s most dangerous racing driver, Jody Scheckter has reinvented himself as a pioneering organic farmer.

Vincent Graff from the Guardian visits Scheckter’s remarkable conversion at Laverstoke Park for an interview about his organic farming business.

Read more in the Guardian Website.