Environment
One of our core values is to deliver and champion environmental best practice, so we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. Our Group’s environmental communication and action brand, known as ‘The 4R Plan’, focuses on delivering continual improvements through reducing impact, reusing resources, recycling materials and adopting recovery principles.
EmploymentHow the 4R plan is making a difference
Reduce, reuse, recycle, recover: the four ‘R’s of environmental responsibility are at the heart of our 4R Plan.
As a manufacturing business we make a significant impact on the environment in terms of our energy use, water use and waste disposal. As we make continual improvements to reduce that impact.
The 4R Plan gives us an opportunity to share progress and ideas from around the Group.
Some of our recent initiatives are significant solar panel installations in our new builds at Bradgate Bakery Ashton Green and SBSC Oak Meadow, LED lighting at all sites, signing up to industry food waste and plastic reduction pledges, sourcing green electricity, achieving zero waste-to-landfill targets and using technology plus driver training to reduce fuel use and emissions from our supply chain fleet.
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Sustainable construction for new distribution centre
When we build new factories and warehouses within the Group, we build with sustainable construction high on our agenda. A good example is the Samworth Brothers Supply Chain (SBSC) distribution centre at the Leicester Distribution Park which was constructed to the rigorous BREEAM standard ratings.
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for infrastructure and buildings. SBSC chose to build to the BREEAM rating and not simply to adhere to regulatory building requirements. It was fully committed to taking a sustainable approach during the construction of the 165,000 square feet site which opened in autumn 2017.
Green electricity pledge
Samworth Brothers is now purchasing all our grid supplied electricity from certified renewable sources. The move will deliver over 45,000 tonnes of carbon savings per year, equivalent to taking 8,700 cars off UK roads for the same period.
All Samworth Brothers 19 businesses across the UK made the switch on October 1st 2017 achieving zero carbon emissions in this area.
The Group is working with Smartestenergy as its electricity provider, delivering renewable sources through the Smartestenergy’s Natural Renewable option. The scheme has certification from the Carbon Trust. The scheme’s Carbon Trust endorsement certifies that every megawatt hour supplied will be from wind, solar or hydro generators, backed by UK recognised origin certificates, which trace the electricity supply from source to supply.
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Tackling food waste
At Samworth Brothers we strongly believe we have a duty and responsibility to ensure that, wherever possible, good food does not go to waste, and that opportunities to create further value from our surplus food should be maximised.
Our journey to prevent good edible food being wasted in our businesses continues and we remain committed to the Champions 12.3* pledge, which speaks to our values and ethos of being a responsible business.
We have further strengthened our commitment by becoming signatories to the IGD/WRAP Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and by pledging our support to Ben Elliott’s (the Government’s Food Surplus and Waste Champion) ‘Step up to the Plate’ initiative. This initiative to reduce food waste was launched in 2019.
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Samworth Brothers is committed to UK Plastics Pact
Samworth Brothers is fully committed to the UK Plastics Pact, launched in 2018 by the sustainability experts WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme) and is proud to be one of the first chilled food manufacturers to have signed up to the commitment.
The UK Plastics Pact is a trailblazing, collaborative initiative, led by WRAP, which aims to create a circular economy for plastics and ensure that plastics do not end up in the environment.
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Two initiatives from Honest Crust
Plastic-free packaging
Our Honest Crust Food-To-Go brand has partnered with packaging company Coveris to launch plastic-free packaging for its sandwiches and wraps. The packaging uses cellulose film instead of plastic and was created to improve resource efficiency and recyclability, and reduce food waste, in alignment with the UK Plastic Pact and the Courtauld 2025 targets, helping the UK achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 by 2030.
This plastic-free packaging provides the same presentation, protection and preservation benefits as its plastic counterpart. In fact, the cellulose film was designed with Freshlife technology which maintains freshness for longer and helps reduce food waste.
With Honest Crust, we are the first Food-To-Go business to ensure our sandwich and wrap box packaging is 100% recyclable and zero plastic.
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