As a major UK food manufacturer which has a field to fork integrated supply chain for pigs and poultry, we’re committed to engaging with our suppliers to make progress and embed sustainability, including responsible sourcing, throughout our entire process.
Although we don’t purchase forest-related materials directly, we realise that there is an inherent risk of deforestation associated with some of the agricultural products which we purchase, such as soya for animal feed and plant-based products, beef from South America, paper and cardboard for packaging materials and palm oil.
Soy
We have been working alongside the industry since 2006 when we joined the Amazon Soy Moratorium. We’re now signatories to the Cerrado Manifesto, and a member of the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya. We’re working on projects to become more self-sufficient with our own animal feed mills and we’re exploring alternative crops such as UK grown peas, beans and soya.
This year we joined the Soy Transparency Coalition, a group of businesses focussed on sourcing soy certified to a deforestation-free standard and helping area mechanisms to support verified deforestation-free zones. Transparent evidence of origin or the flow of certification is required to monitor progress by verifying whether soy is being sourced from verified ‘deforestation-free areas’ or has been certified to an appropriate standard.
We realise soy would be produced regardless of animal feed, however recognise that by joining the Coalition, we will strengthen the influence we can have and continue our work with the industry to bring about more transparency on soy traders practices and performance to remove deforestation from soy supply chains.
Palm Oil
We are ensuring through our supply chain that the Palm Oil we need is from a sustainable source and that it does not contribute to deforestation and is certified, as defined by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Paper and Cardboard Packaging
Wherever practical, we use certified sources for paper and cardboard packaging, for example, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certified suppliers.
Beef
We continue our commitment to ensuring 100% of our beef from Brazil comes from cattle sourced from areas with no risk of deforestation.
Prevention of deforestation is critical to conserve biodiversity and protect communities that depend on the forests for their livelihoods and mitigate climate change.
Please find our updated Group Deforestation Policy here.