Speciality Food Magazine -November/December 2025

@specialityfood 20 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DISTRIBUTOR INSIGHT: COTSWOLD FAYRE Paul Hargreaves, CEO, shares his experience of running a sustainable operation WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES IN MAKING YOUR OPERATIONS MORE SUSTAINABLE, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THESE? The challenges are always knowing what the most effective actions are to do and how to prioritise them and of course, financial ability to do them. Not everything we have put in place to become more sustainable costs money, but some of it does and we need to ensure that what we do is the most effective use of cash. WHAT ARE THE MARKERS OF A SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN? The best marker would be an auditable net zero measure, and this is where we are aiming for by 2030, but this is just for our own business activities. We won’t be truly net zero until all the 5,000 products within our range are also net zero, so the task head is enormous and, as a wholesale, relies hugely on our suppliers. FUTURE-PROOF DISTRIBUTION Transporting your goods with the planet in mind is a vital part of boosting your sustainability credentials... W hen it comes to working within a sustainable supply chain, distribution is much more than a question of getting an item from A to B. There are a number of questions to be asked – some might even be a little uncomfortable at first – but once you’re viewing your business through the lens of sustainability, you’ll see why it is so important to make meaningful change. Renewable energy is a good place to start – implementing renewable sources and opting for electric vehicles (or a distributor who utilises them) can form an important part of the chain. Perhaps, too, you could look into the possibility of your business generating its own power through solar panels. Download the full report for more insight and actionable advice. GROWER INSIGHT Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, has experienced first-hand the evolution of the food supply chain I’ve been farming for over 50 years, and I’ve seen it all. When I started there were local abbatoirs, everything was packed, processed and distributed locally – but since that time it’s become increasingly difficult to supply the local market. We used to grow carrots which went through packhouses throughout the UK, but then the supermarkets realised that if they only had one pack house per commodity product they’d make more money. We live in an era of commodity slavery – once a product has left the farm gate the farmer doesn’t know where it’s going, as supermarkets realised that if they only had one packhouse per commodity product they would make more money. The supermarkets are keeping that secret, as it’s a pretty unattractive story, but the great news is that more consumers want to know where their food is coming from – and it’s up to us to be telling that story. All of the links in the chain have gone, and we have to put them back in again. It’s not simple, and there’s a lot of cost involved, but that’s how we can re-establish a supply chain that can be sustained – and sustainable – for years to come. Everything, from public health to nature, will benefit. It’s not simple, and there’s a lot of cost involved, but that’s howwe can re-establish a supply chain that can be sustained – and sustainable – for years to come IN THE MID-2010S, TRANSPORTATION REPLACED ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AS THE UK’S SINGLE LARGEST CLIMATE POLLUTER, WITH MOBILITY ON LAND, SEA, AND IN THE AIR NOW ACCOUNTING FOR ROUGHLY 30 PERCENT OF TOTAL EMISSIONS Statista DISTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTES 29 PER CENT TO FOOD SYSTEM EMISSIONS, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE GROWING United Nations Subject to continued innovation and policy support, all newHGVs for the food system could be zero-carbon from the mid-2030s. This shift is dependent on continued technological innovation and robust policy support to overcome the challenges associated with electrifying heavy-duty transport. [The industry must] proactively engage with programmes to decarbonise HGVs, trialling new technologies in the 2020s and planning to roll these out in the 2030s, subject to continued innovation and policy support INSTITUTE OF GROCERY DISTRIBUTION