Environment

This year we celebrate 50 years of calling Glenbervie our home. The green fields surrounding our headquarters have been a source of both comfort and inspiration over the last five decades and we do everything we can to minimise our impact on the environment.

The Macphie family has installed two wind turbines on site – under the name of Glenbervie Wind – contributing to our direct supply of renewable energy, and we were the first food manufacturer to produce ingredients using a 1.2MW on-site biomass facility.

Cutting carbon

Building on our existing renewable and on-site self-generated supply, our environmental activity this year has been focused on preparing us for the next 50 years and beyond. From big changes to small, we have a clear ambition to move towards carbon neutrality ahead of the Scottish Government’s target of 2045 and we hope the plans and investments we’ve made this year will make a positive impact for generations to come.

In winter, we invested £75,000 to install a network of sub-metres across our Glenbervie plant, allowing us to track our energy use on a more granular level. While it’s still early days, this will allow us to drill down on making energy efficiencies on individual products and processes.

This year we secured funding from the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF) which has allowed us to kick-start a programme of work which will reduce our carbon footprint.

The investment is being used to improve our ability to make use of renewable energy generated on site - firstly by allowing us to buy two new boilers which are hydrogen-ready. While we aren’t yet equipped to embrace hydrogen energy, the installation will ready us to convert when the market matures. The new process-steam boilers include heat recovery systems which will allow us to recycle the condensate through a heat exchanger to pre-heat the cold-water feed going into the boiler, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels by 25%.

At present, 70% of our energy in Glenbervie comes from on-site generated wind energy, restricted by current infrastructure. The second phase of the programme will see us installing a new power supply allowing us to consolidate our grid access points and increase our use of wind energy generated on site by around 20%.

Turning on the lights in Tannochside

2022 saw us recommence operations at our North Lanarkshire factory after we were forced to down tools temporarily due to the impact of covid-19 on foodservice sales.

Before firing up the factory again, we took the opportunity to refit the 25,000sq ft production space, making it fit for purpose and more environmentally friendly –investing around £4million. As part of the refurbishment, we installed low-energy lighting across the factory and insulation to avoid unnecessary energy use in both heating and cooling storage spaces.

We have now signed off on plans to install solar panels on site which will generate one third of the energy to power our Tannochside facility.

Supporting a sustainable industry

As a certified B Corp, we believe it’s important to fly the flag for high standards of environmental and social performance and inspire good practice across our industry. Last year, we sponsored the Sustainability Initiative of the Year category for the second year at the prestigious Baking Industry Awards – an annual celebration of success in the baking industry.

This category is open to bakery businesses of any size, including wholesale and retail operations, manufacturers as well as their suppliers. In sponsoring and judging this award, we celebrate a range of sustainable initiatives aimed at reducing waste, cutting carbon footprints, using green energy and driving efficiencies.

Working collaboratively with customers, we’re also helping to create sustainable solutions to suit their needs. By offering ultra-heat treated (UHT) sauces, glazes and dairy cream alternative, we’re helping customers to reduce their reliance on chilled options and therefore cutting their energy consumption. The longer product shelf life also helps towards reducing food waste.

We have helped move one customer from using plastic bottles for their sauces to film pouches to reduce their intake of single-use plastic.

A team effort

This year, we launched the “energy taskforce”, engaging champions across the business to drive change in their areas. Meeting on a quarterly basis, the team are responsible not only for developing ways in which we reduce our energy use on site but to feedback tips and advice to their teams on how they can implement these changes at home, too.

Following the first meeting, it was clear there was demand amongst staff for more electric car charging points on site. We installed three back in 2018 but the number of employees driving electric vehicles has increased and we have introduced two to our own fleet. We now have plans to install a further four charging points in Glenbervie and four in Tannochside.

“As well as big-ticket projects, sustainable operations rely on our behaviour. The energy taskforce is made up of volunteers from around the business who want to help make a difference.

“After just one meeting, there was a notable increase in the number of people switching off lights and other electronic equipment when leaving a room and turning down radiators in infrequently used meeting rooms – small actions which all help the bigger picture.”

Ed Widdowson, Strategy & Sustainability Director

Governance

Appoint Strategy, People and Sustainability Director to executive board to strengthen strategic focus on people and sustainability

2023/24 focus areas at a glance

Here is a snapshot of the areas we plan to focus our attention over the next 12 months to continue our improvement journey.

Customers

Proactively encourage customers to move customised products into more sustainable packaging options

Partner with Scottishbased manufacturers with the view of expanding our use of local suppliers

Workers

Review our maternity, paternity and adoption leave packages

Extend our partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council to create further employment opportunities for refugees resettling in Scotland

Review our remuneration packages in light of cost-of-living pressures

Appoint dedicated resource to manage learning and development to attract, nurture and retain talent

Environment

Install two new boilers with heat recovery systems to reduce carbon output by 25%

Communities

Donate £50,000 to local charities and community groups

Provide work experience opportunities for young people

Install new power supply allowing us to consolidate grid access points and increase use of wind energy by 20%

Install solar panels at our North Lanarkshire factory to generate 35% of our energy required to run the site

Install further electric vehicle charging points at all factories

Remove diesel van from company fleet and replace with electric vehicle