Quorn aims to reduce carbon footprint

Significant investment by Quorn in its production facilities at Billingham has resulted in growth in business performance and environmental benefits, with the company recently recognised by the Carbon Trust for its ongoing work to reduce its carbon footprint.

Over the last 12 months the Stokesley, North Yorkshire, based company, which exports its meat-free products to more than 15 countries across the world, has seen a 10% reduction in its company carbon footprint.

Quorn achieved this after launching a series of major initiatives, which included switching from kerosene to gas, improving temperature control throughout production areas, reducing waste and introducing thermal insulation.

The environmental benefits are also seen in Quorn’s food products as its mince has a carbon footprint over 90% lower than beef equivalent.

Quorn’s £40m spend will include investing in new product creation and research and development, with a number of launches planned for later this year, including a new vegan friendly range.

Kevin Brennan, CEO of Quorn said: “Quorn is known for the positive impact it has on the environment, as a sustainable, healthy form of protein. In the last two years, however, we have focused on further reducing our impact. This has included significant investment in recycling steam, switching energy sources, improved temperature controls and thermal insulation.

“We’re delighted to have received this reaccreditation from the Carbon Trust, but there’s certainly more that we can do. Over the next 12 months we will be investing a further £40m into the business, with a focus on sustainability measures to improve Quorn’s environmental performance.”

Darran Messem, managing director of The Carbon Trust Certification, added: “Quorn has demonstrated remarkable progress in reducing the environmental impact of its most popular products over a two year period, since they were last certified by the Carbon Trust. The company has reduced the carbon footprint of its core Mycoprotein ingredient by 15%, which has resulted in substantial improvements across the certified product range, in multiple countries.

“Finding efficiencies and improvements of this magnitude over such a short period, alongside increasing sales and business growth, is a good sign that a company is both responsible and well-run.”

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