SETTING THE BAR

The hospitality sector’s supply chain is estimated to be responsible for 15 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the UK and yet, despite being part of such a notoriously wasteful industry, bars have been relatively slow to confront their environmental impact.

It came naturally to Ryan Chetiyawardana, a Buddhist and a biologist as well as a bartender and founder, to consider his impact on others and the planet. But when he opened East London’s White Lyan in 2013 – a bar which shunned ice, perishables and brands and was, by his own admission, “pretty extreme to put it mildly” – it was perceived as something of an affront to an industry that couldn’t reconcile sustainability with the luxury product and experience it was promoting.

But then, in 2015, a video of a marine biologist removing a plastic straw from a turtle’s nose went viral, prompting a sea change in attitude