Wyke Farms Wins Two Waitrose Way ‘Treading Lightly’ Awards 2014

Wyke Farms recognised for its commitment to sustainability

 Somerset, UK – 16^th September 2014 – Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, is delighted to announce that it has won two prestigious Waitrose Way Treading Lightly Awards for its ‘100% Green’ sustainability initiative at the Waitrose Way Awards last Thursday. Wyke Farms struck gold, winning the ‘Treading Lightly – Carbon category’ and the ‘Treading Lightly – Water category’.

The awards recognise the positive impact Wyke Farms’ ‘100% Green’ has had on the business and surrounding environment. Wyke Farms has reduced its carbon emissions by creating a sustainable working farm, one in which its sources all of its electricity and gas from solar and biogas, generated from its farm and dairy waste which is currently of no value. Its on-site biogas plant converts around 75,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste per year into energy and saves Wyke Farms over 5 million kilos of carbon dioxide per annum. The company has also reduced its factory water consumption by 70% through installing a Water Recovery Plant, which will save up to 850,000 litres of water per day and recover up to 95% of its factory wastewater.

The Waitrose Way awards celebrate Waitrose suppliers’ outstanding initiatives to enhance the sustainability of their businesses and, ultimately, the food that ends up on consumers’ plates. This is the third year that these awards have taken place and winners were selected from over 150 entries.

“We are extremely proud to have been recognised in these awards for our commitment to sustainability” said Rich Clothier, managing director and 3^rd generation family member at Wyke Farms “At Wyke Farms we aim to operate our business in a way that has minimal impact on the Somerset environment and to create a truly symbiotic relationship with the countryside that provides our food, our income and our home. I believe that 100% Green is an ongoing journey and I remain committed to staying up to date to ensure that Wyke keeps challenging its business to stay at the forefront of sustainable working practice.”

Wyke Farms has been producing its award-winning cheddar for over a century and has grown to become the largest family-owned cheese maker in Britain selling over 14,000 tonnes annually.

Wyke Farms have 150 years of family farming experience. Wyke Farms’ cheese and butter is made with the milk from their cows grazing the lush pastures of the Mendip Hills in the centre of the Cheddar making region in Somerset.

The Wyke Farms products are available nationwide and can be found in Asda, Co-op, Makro, Sainsbury’s Tesco and Waitrose.

Tags: 100% green, cheddar cheese, sustainability, sustainable, Treading Lightly Awards, Waitrose, Waitrose Way, Wyke Farms

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