Environmental sustainability | Sustainability

Building a sustainable business

Carbon management and caring for the environment have always been high on our agenda, and we’ve acted over the years to help make our business operations more environmentally sustainable.

Last year, we took the first formal steps on our carbon management journey, working with Beyondly to measure the carbon footprint of the business and give us a benchmark for future action. Before this, we’d already taken steps to reduce food miles and make the business more sustainable.

Field to fork ingredient sourcing

We work hard to establish strong and lasting partnerships with grain merchants. The business is located in one of the best grain - and in particular barley - growing areas of the British Isles, which means that most of the raw grain we process comes from within a 40-mile radius of our factory.

In 2018, we started growing our own products alongside trial crops for customers at The Mead, 750 acres of farmland and forestry owned and operated by the same family that runs Silvery Tweed.

We currently grow a mix of wheat, barley, rye and linseed at the farm, as well as having temporary grass in our crop cycle. All grain grown on the farm travels less than 10 miles to reach the Silvery Tweed production plant, reducing food miles and offering customers the benefit of 100% traceability.

Proud to be a Countryside Steward

In 2023 we joined the Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier Scheme, put in place by DEFRA to improve local environments. This five-year initiative includes grant funding to support and remunerate farmers who undertake important work to conserve the farmed environment. The scheme is aimed at improving this environment for wildlife, insects, and pollinators, whilst also bettering water and air quality.

To date, we have undertaken work in our open fields to improve soil structures and drainage; planted winter cover crops that provide shelter and food for a variety of birds and insects; created grass margins to support spring pollination and help protect the watercourse; along with concrete and drainage work to reduce contamination of the local waterways.

The Silvery Tweed carbon footprint

Being a responsible supply partner is important to us, and although we’re below the threshold for carbon reporting, we wanted to better understand the carbon footprint of the business so that we could identify areas for further improvement.

Our first carbon footprint report provided us with an emissions baseline across the company’s scope 1 and 2 activities between May 2023 and April 2024. It calculated the carbon footprint of the business at 921 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) and identified potential for us to save 272 tonnes of carbon.

Electricity was the most significant contributor to emissions at 48% (441 tCO2e), closely followed by gas use at 41% (381 tCO2e).

Other contributors included onsite diesel use, used for equipment such as tow tugs, loaders, pressure washers, combines and tractors. This accounted for 9% of emissions.

LPG used for heating at the coating plant and the grain drier was minimal at 1%. Company vehicles also contribute a minimal 1%.

Download our sustainability report, which outlines the next steps in our carbon management journey, and watch Managing Director Bob Gladstone talk about how we are approaching carbon reduction.

Building a sustainable business goes beyond environmental considerations. Read about our work to support the local community.