Bernard Matthews Launches ‘The Big Green Plan’
Bernard Matthews, the UK’s largest turkey producer, has launched ‘The Big Green Plan’ – a programme of green energy initiatives that will make the business the UK’s greenest farmer and to put sustainability at the very heart of the business.
The plan’s six major goals mean that by end of 2016 Bernard Matthews will be 100% self-sufficient from renewable green electricity and by 2020 will be 100% carbon neutral, send zero waste to landfill, have reduced its carbon emissions by 35%, reduced the weight of its packaging by 25% and reduced its water usage by 20%.
Rob Burnett, chief executive of Bernard Matthews, says: “Sustainability is central to our long term business strategy. We’re already generating a large proportion of our energy needs from renewable sources including solar, wind, waste and biomass and are well placed to be generating 100% of our electricity sustainably by 2016.”
“Our Big Green Plan is ambitious and will require everyone in the business to work together to achieve these tough targets. But for the business to remain sustainable in the future we need to ensure we become more efficient in the way we use energy.”
To achieve its goals, Bernard Matthews has rolled out a number of green energy projects that reach every single part of its business, from farm to factory, and are for the long-term, looking beyond immediate success to a sustainable future.
To date it has gained over £100 million of investment from multiple green energy investors, which has allowed the business in partnership with developers to plan, develop and build the following key green energy projects that will ensure it meets its targets:
Biomass – Bernard Matthews has already completed the largest UK roll out of 209 biomass boilers, across 30 of its turkey farms, to help reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
Wind – The turkey producer is installing nine large scale wind turbines at three farms across Norfolk and Suffolk, each generating 2.3MW of ‘green’ electricity – equivalent to powering nearly 700 homes. 4 are already built and generating energy.
Solar – The business has already built a 55 acre solar farm in Suffolk, which can generate up to 10.1MW of electricity.
Anaerobic Digestion – Bernard Matthews has partnered with two leaders in the anaerobic digester sector and has already built a £4.2 million anaerobic digestion plant to generate power from factory wastes.
Turkey Litter Pelleting – Pending new legislation it may soon be possible to burn turkey litter in biomass boilers. If this gets the green light, it would allow us to recycle 10,000 tonnes of turkey litter, in order to generate heat and replace use of LPG.
Energy efficiency – By comprehensively metering its energy usage, and reusing and recycling heat and cold water, Bernard Matthews will be able to reduce its usage of non-renewable energy sources by up to 30%.
Gas to grid – Bernard Matthews is also looking at ways to develop anaerobic plants that produce gas that can be treated and piped directly into the national grid for domestic use.
