Our commitment to become a more sustainable business and reduce our impact on the environment remains at the forefront of decisions made across all areas of our business, from the partners we work with on manufacturing and logistics tasks to the day to day operating of our offices.

From container fill to case size optimisation and from the lighting of our offices to waste management, we are leaving no stone unturned to identify opportunities to reduce our impact on the environment, and we’re proud of the steps we’ve taken so far.

Travel & Transport

The Meadow Vale Team, our customers and suppliers have truly embraced the use of technology to reduce the miles travelled. Online meetings are used whenever suitable, and for face-to-face meetings public transport is encouraged where practical, together with journey planning and car sharing to make the most of every mile travelled.

On renewal, company vehicles are all moving to electric or hybrid options, with the charging ports used to recharge the vehicles being powered by the Solar Panels at our head office.

Packaging

One of our biggest changes is to our packaging. A major step was the move of our Goodness Me! range to fully recyclable packaging, reducing our waste to landfill by 9 tonne each year.

As the material required for recyclable packaging becomes more readily and reliably available, we are excited to embark on the next phase, moving further high-volume ranges to fully recyclable packaging to have an even greater impact.

Alongside this, where possible we have reduced the bag size across many of our core ranges, further reducing our use of plastic, and the quantity going to landfill.

Food Waste

A huge talking point within the industry is around food waste. Food waste costs the hospitality and food service sector £3.2 billion every year – that’s an average of £10k per outlet, per year, according to WRAP.

Frozen is a great way to combat waste as you only use what you need and it has a much longer shelf life. With our focus on tackling food waste, we have not sent any food to landfill for well over 10 years. We have also seen a huge trend of the industry switching to frozen to combat waste and the unpredictability we experienced during COVID.

All Other Changes

Other great changes we have made is ditching the polystyrene when sending out samples to customers. Samples have moved into a printed carboard box which is fully recyclable and insulated with Wool from Wool Cool, a natural recycled product that helps keep our products frozen.

Our main office building is now fitted with Solar Panels helping us produce renewable energy and reduce our carbon footprint. Finally becoming more sustainable isn’t just about reducing our carbon footprint, we continue to support our local community by making regular food donations to local charities.

For any more information regarding our commitment to sustainability please contact customerservices@meadowvalefoods.co.uk