Green technologies
Saving electricity and water
This year, we agreed a £2 million investment in green technologies at our Lincoln site, which includes an anaerobic digestion plant and major upgrades to our water management system.
It's an important business as well as environmental decision, with projected savings of over 40% on electricity and 60% on water at the site. And of course, there's the added green benefit of taking one LGV load of outgrade potatoes off the road each day.
Our anaerobic digestion plant produces 300kW of electricity - all from outgrade potatoes that aren't fit for consumption - making us one of the first UK food producers to harness such innovative technology. The plant is safe, quiet, odourless and, most importantly, incredibly efficient.
Meanwhile, our new water recycling plant, which we worked on in conjunction with the Environment Agency, recycles some 60% of the water we use to wash our potatoes, benefiting both our fresh potato and prepared foods facilities.
The investment is the latest in several projects we've implemented as part of our environmental strategy, which has led the company to become the first UK food producer to receive the Carbon Trust Standard and ISO 14001 accreditation.
