Speciality Food March 2026

specialityfoodmagazine.com 45 TWO FARMERS “We’ve embraced innovation” A t Two Farmers, sustainability is more than a goal, it’s woven into every part of what they do. The teamhave built a closed loop model to show how crisp production can operate responsibly, efficiently, and in harmony with nature. “Our crisp facility in Herefordshire is powered entirely by renewable energy generated on site using solar panels coupled with anaerobic digestion (AD). Thanks to this integration, we are able to operate as a carbon-neutral producer, with our verified annual carbon footprint (around 350 tonnes CO₂e) fully offset through our renewable systems,” explain Sean Mason and Mark Green, co-founders. “All the potatoes we use are grown on our own farms adjacent to the factory,” they continue. This proximity minimises transport emissions, ensures full traceability, and supports a truly local supply chain. “In packaging, we’ve embraced innovation: our crisp packets are made from compostable, plant-based materials, printed with biodegradable inks and glues. After use, they can be collected, shredded, and fed into our AD process, breaking down fully to generate both renewable electricity for our operations and nutrient-rich digestate. That digestate is returned to our fields to nourish the next crop of potatoes, completing the loop from soil to packaging and back to soil.” But Two Farmers’ commitment extends beyond operations, say Mark and Sean. “In partnership with the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, we are actively restoring natural ecosystems through tree and hedge planting, regenerative soil practices, cover cropping, and organic soil amendments. These practices enhance soil health, support biodiversity, and contribute to natural carbon sequestration over time.” The Two Farmers approach proves that you can combine business success with environmental responsibility. “Our closed loop solution is a replicable, future-ready model, one that helps organisations align with net-zero ambitions, reduce supply chain emissions, and demonstrate genuine sustainability across every stage of food production.” THE HIDDEN SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF FOOD AND LAND USE IS ESTIMATED BETWEEN $10–19 TRILLION ANNUALLY WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM R iverford founder Guy Singh-Watson started farming organically at Riverford back in 1986, and this year we celebrate 40 years of staying true to our organic roots. The principles behind organic farming are woven into Riverford’s ethos. Riverford’s goal is to be the best example of ‘agroecology’ – creating a landscape with: rich biodiversity; strong resilience to climate change; high levels of sequestered carbon; healthy soils; restored water quality. All while producing nutritious food for our customers. Working with our farmer friends, we want to set the blueprint for how the UK should farm in the future, for the future. Organic sets the bar high, but we need to go above and beyond. We have successfully complete R & D trials in Peat Free Media (to reduce horticultural peat usage) successfully creating a peat free recipe to take to an industrialisation phase of the project, which we are now seeking funding for to realise its implementation across the commercial horticulture industry. We have several agroforestry projects happening now, including silvo-horticultural planting and a collaborative project between three neighbouring farms (Riverford’s Wash farm and 2 local suppliers) to plant several hectares of wood pasture and woodland systems, integrating woodland planting and livestock grazing. This is helping to build climate resilient farming systems. Biodiversity Action Plans at Riverford Farms – from 2023 to 2025 included planting hundreds of meters of new hedgerow, digging multiple wildlife ponds, and altered hedgerow cutting regimes to increase the height, width and wildlife value of the hedgerow network. ZAC GOODALL HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY AT RIVERFORD “Riverford’s goal is to be the best example of ‘agroecology’” Our closed loop solution is a replicable, future-readymodel, one that jelps organisations alignwithnet-zero ambitions, reduce supply chain emissions, anddemonstrate genuine sustainability across every stage of foodproduction SUMA “Everything we do is done through a sustainability lens” S uma has had sustainability at its core since it began in 1977. It has been vegetarian since day one, promoting a cruelty- free lifestyle which the Vegetarian Society claims generates 2.5 less carbon emissions than a carnivore diet. “We were founded on selling bulk products too, reducing plastic waste and promoting refills before they became the trend! Everything we do is done through a sustainability lens, fromour packaging to our trucks, even the food waste fromour canteen is sent to anaerobic digestions,” says Rebecca Kinnard, marketing and brand product development co- operativemember. Last year this total amounted to 7.55 tonnes of food. In 2023 Suma launched their Sustainability Strategy. “Key highlights so far include completing our Scope 3 assessment,” begins Rebecca. “We partner with Carbon Footprint Ltd to collect and analyse our data, and were able to establish a baseline for our carbon footprint, and set reduction targets. “We are very proud our absolute emissions are falling fromour direct operations. Our Scope 1 + 2 emissions reduced by 3.7% (62 tCO2e) last year 23/24 compared to the previous year 22/23. We have two biogas trucks now, which emit 84% fewer emissions than diesel trucks. Packaging is a huge area for Suma. “We’re proud of our partnership with Prevented Ocean Plastic™. This brilliant organisation collects plastic waste found close to rivers and oceans that would otherwise be destined to pollute waterways. Instead, the waste is recycled andmade into new products. Suma has been able to move over to using Prevented Ocean Plastic™ inmany of our Ecoleaf and ALTER/NATIVE bottles.” The business also promotes bulk buying, refills and plastic reduction across our Suma brand, and last year launched its own range of bamboo kitchen utensils, as zerowaste plastic- free alternatives. “Our co-operative credentials allow us to stand out fromother brands; being an equal-pay worker co-op is pretty unique for an organisation our size,” Rebecca explains. “We’ve been recognised for this too. Ethical Consumer ranked Suma joint top of their supermarket category, and a huge range of our own brand products now carry the Ethical Consumer Best Buy logo, and the list is growing.”