AN OXFORD restaurant is pledging to do more to promote sustainability.

Nisha Katona MBE, the founder of Indian street food chain Mowgli, says she is on a 'personal crusade' to be more environmentally friendly.

Her Westgate Centre eatery is ending its use of single-use plastics, and 'pressuring suppliers to do the same.'

Citing lobbying of 'an international beer brand', Miss Katona said: “At Mowgli our purpose is to enrich lives in the cities where we work, and it’s vitally important both to me, and my team that we are an ethical business that operates in the right way.

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“We emailed the brewer about its use of plastics in packaging as we all know the devastating impact they have on marine life - and I was delighted that they listened.”

The chain moved in to the city centre's Westgate in March 2018, having been founded in Liverpool four years earlier.

It is planning on opening three more restaurants in the next few months, giving it 11 branch across various cities the country.

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The restaurant has launched its own charitable foundation aiming to benefit communities both in the UK and overseas.

It says it will send 40 members of staff a year to work in and learn about land management and the effects of global warming in countries like India.

Meanwhile, the brand says it will sponsor a child in India or Africa for every new member of staff it employs at one of its restaurants.

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Miss Katona, a former barrister and food writer. added: “I want my teams to be nourished, fulfilled and purposefu... our ethical approach is striking a chord.”

In May last year, Oxford Mail reviewer Katherine MacAlister wrote: "I loved it. Its food could be scattered with some more moderate dishes, everything being so zesty the palate occasionally needed a rest, but Mowgli is as fun, vibrant and colourful as its food."