Our environment: how we’re raising the bar…

We all know the way we live our lives has a big impact on the health of our planet and the people we share it with. When you run a business that responsibility gets a bit bigger and, as you’d expect, we take it seriously.

We’re not perfect, but here’s what we’re doing…

Our packaging

The volume of plastic used to wrap bars has been reduced by 30% over the past five years.

We're working with Plastic Bank to offset our current plastic footprint.

In the meantime we're working with our packaging suppliers and external experts to understand how we can make improvements.

How we’re doing this…

Our ingredients

We've explored plant-based alternatives to honey create a few vegan-friendly options.

We've partnered with a Bolivian NGO to support Brazil nut growers affected by crop failure.

The palm kernel oil used in our yoghurt coating is from a sustainable, RSPO-certified source.

How we’re doing this…

The Makery

Used wooden pallets are sent to a local craftsman to be made into hives for our beekeepers.

Every member of staff will soon have a KeepCup - no single-use cups here!

All lighting has been upgraded to LEDs, reducing our lighting energy consumption by two thirds.

How we're doing this...

Our charities

Bars have been donated to 85 local events in 2018, with more planned for 2019.

We send bars directly to Fareshare, Braintree Foodbank and Help Refugees.

Our beekeeper programme has trained, equipped and supported 100 beekeepers.

How we're doing this...

Reducing the volume of plastic in our packaging...

Over the past five years we've gradually whittled down the thickness of the film that wraps each bar by 30%. Our wrappers keep your bars in tip-top condition; we've always kept them clear so you can see the wholesome ingredients inside.

Plastic use is a complex issue...

Plastic creates many problems for our environment. It also solves problems in our food chain, making it possible to keep food fresher for longer. We know that a long-term solution will involve more than simply removing plastic from polluted landscapes. We're committed to finding a more sustainable model.

We're offsetting our current plastic footprint...

Through our partnership with Plastic Bank, we're offsetting our current annual footprint of 115 tonnes. Our work with Plastic Bank is focussed in the Philippines where local people earn money by removing plastic from our seas and oceans.

The volume of plastic used to wrap our bars has been reduced by 30% over the years

Our team is looking into new packaging technologies to reduce this further

Our work with Plastic Bank is focussed on the Philippines where many of our ingredients come from

We use RSPO certified palm oil...

We’re proud of our yoghurt coating’s unique taste and texture – it took us a whole year to get the recipe just right. Our palm kernel oil supplier, who we’ve been working with for many years, is RSPO certified.

We’re supporting Brazil nut growers affected by crop failure...

Bad weather and climate change caused the Brazil harvest to fail in 2017, which devastated the rural communities of Bolivia that sell us their nuts. In 2017 we began working with Bolivian NGO CIPCA, who have used our donation to set up nurseries raising cacao, açai, timber trees and healthy new Brazil nut trees to create work and alternative income for local people.

We're exploring plant-based alternatives to honey...

After many hours tinkering in our development 'pod' we've come up with some delicious recipes that use maple syrup, coconut blossom nectar and chicory root fibre. We now have three plant-based products.

Our ingredients arrive in the UK via boat and train, none are air-freighted

In 2017 Brazil nut production was down around 50% after an unusually dry winter and high winds brought down Brazil nut trees

The macadamias we buy from South Africa come from a family of macademia growers who also work closely with other local farmers

Changing to LEDs...

All our lighting across our site has been upgraded to LEDs, reducing our energy consumption by 60%

Turning pallets into beehives...

We have a rehabilitation programme for our old pallets: we send them to Chris, a craftsman down the road in Wickford, who makes them into bee hives. We now have 100 hives across the country, with another 100 coming soon.

KeepCups for all our staff...

We were getting through an eye-watering 3,385 single-use cups a week. Each member of staff will soon have their own KeepCup...we can save all that waste from landfill while feeling rather swanky at the same time.

We were using 350,000 disposable coffee cups a year - making bars is thirsty work

We've created nearly 200 beehives from our disused pallet wood

We send bars directly to Fareshare, Braintree Foodbank and Help Refugees...

We make a lot of bars each year, so we get a lot of part-boxes and odd 'end of batches'. We share all the bars we can't sell – and some we could – with charities that can quickly get them to the people who need them most.

We've supported over 85 local events...

We've been popping our bars in goody bags and on refreshment tables, sharing our bakes with local runners, cyclists, triathletes and fundraisers.

Our beekeeper programme has trained and equipped 100 beekeepers...

Since 2015 we've recruited 100 beekeepers (soon to be 200). Our hives can be found from Cornwall to John O'Groats – on urban rooftops, island crofts and just about every habitat in between.

Ours bars have been to Halstead Marathon, Sudbury Triathlon and a few team members even ran the Norwich 10K.

Our community of beekeepers are helping us spread the word that without pollinators we wouldn't have many of the ingredients (or honey) in our bars or cereals