The UK’s number one pork pie brand has installed a solar panel array on its factory roof in its latest move to achieve a greener, more sustainable manufacturing process.
With climate change high on the agenda, Vale of Mowbray has already made changes such as introducing greener packaging alternatives and a policy of ‘zero waste to landfill’, and this installation is a step further on that journey.
Mark Gatenby, MD at Vale of Mowbray said: “The environment is important to us as a business and it’s only right that we do all we can to promote greener ways of working. We’re lucky enough to be situated in one of the most beautiful counties in England and we’re conscious of our potential impact on that landscape so have made a real effort to minimise it wherever we can. There is still work to do but this is the first stage of a wider project to achieve that.”
The installation means that a minimum of 14 per cent of the manufacturer’s annual electricity usage will be solar generated, with the capability to generate 997KW of energy per annum. It comes as approximately 40 per cent of its key assets on site are under constant energy usage monitoring to enable Vale of Mowbray to understand usage patterns to make ongoing improvements.
Scott Burrows, Director at Eden Sustainable said: “Eden Sustainable is delighted to work with flagship organisations such as Vale of Mowbray. We have all seen power prices increasing dramatically, and solar is an excellent way to provide increased certainty around energy overheads. Vale of Mowbray has made the most of Eden’s zero capital solution, meaning there are no initial or ongoing costs, whilst still benefitting from dramatic financial and carbon savings. Eden develops, constructs, and operates the power plant. Atrato are our specialist funders with close links to the supermarket industry, so it is a match made in heaven, or should I say – Yorkshire”.
Vale of Mowbray, which was established in 1795 and bakes over 1.5 million pies every single week, has a number of exciting NPD projects in the pipeline, with more products set to launch in the coming months.
Based at Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, Vale of Mowbray employs over 200 people and currently has live vacancies for permanent staff members. Details can be found at valeofmowbray.co.uk.