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Sustainability 2025
Clegg’s Chilled Food Service are continually working towards reducing their carbon emissions as detailed in our Carbon Reduction Plan which is linked to our website www.cleggschilledfoodservice.co.uk
Delivery Fleet/Routes
All our delivery routes are planned on our vehicle tracking system Masternaut, these are further enhanced where necessary by a platform called Route XL for larger delivery rounds. We have a dedicated team in the office that collate the rounds to ensure full route optimisation to minimise miles travelled and reduce delivery days if the same products can be delivered twice per week instead of three or four, this also reduces admin and staff time to unload and check the orders. All our fleet of vehicles are Euro 6+ and purchased after 2018, ensuring they are as emission friendly as possible. The refrigeration units in the vehicles are made entirely from recycled plastic bottles, further showing our commitment to carbon reduction.
Scoop 1, 2 and 3
In 2023 Clegg’s Chilled Food Service had a full carbon assessment and all three scoops were monitored and full suggestions made. Following the assessment, we created a carbon reduction plan and policy, encompassing ways in which to reduce our carbon footprint.
Scoop 1 - Direct GHG This is monitored by company vehicles, tracking the miles, and calculating the output. From this, we have installed an EV (Electric Vehicle) charger for staff or visitors and are looking to purchase an Electric Van in the next two years, which will significantly impact on our carbon footprint.
Scope 2 – Electricity, indirect GHG, power, lighting, electricity consumption. Following the carbon reduction assessment, we decided to make major investments and improvements into this scoop and installed a 36kw Solar Panel PV system onto our depot's roof. This has reduced electricity consumption by over 35% per year and the investment will have financial benefits once the initial cost has been realised, this will be in under five years. The remainder of electricity used at Clegg’s Chilled Food Service is bought from only sustainable sources, green electricity made by wind farms. This ensures that all the electricity used is 100% renewable, something we have worked hard on are immensely proud to have achieved.
Within scope 1 & 2 the gas for use in a boiler is evaluated. Following the carbon assessment, we had an ASHP (Air Source Heat Pump) installed on site and removed the gas boiler, eradicating the use of any greenhouse gases in the building. The ASHP was installed in September 2023 and has been a fantastic addition to our infrastructure and carbon reduction capabilities. This was done in collaboration with LCC Net Zero projects.
Scope 3
Covers waste, employee commute, capital goods, business travel, process of sold goods and various others within the 15 categories.
All waste at Clegg’s Chilled Food Service is recycled by either our paper and cardboard contractor or general waste which is all filtered and recycled. All the cardboard boxes that are delivered are used to pick and pack customer orders to recycle them. We reduce waste in as many ways as possible. We have a dedicated green team that ensure full recycling within the depot is achieved.
Employee commutes are monitored and where possible we work with staff to encourage walking or cycling or lift shares for the staff further away, we promote this as energy efficient but also as a healthier option for staff.
Business travel is always kept to a minimum and where meetings can be held over the phone or on Teams/Zoom then we always prefer this option. Any business travel will always have our carbon footprint considered as a reason to travel or not, business travel has decreased over 80% in the past 4 years without any negative impact on the company or relationships.
Our long-term targets are to reduce our carbon footprint over the next 15 years by over 80% and to become net zero prior to 2050. We want to reach it as soon as possible and have many procedures and plans in place to make this achievable. Lucy Ross heads the Green Team and carbon reduction plans within the company and is heavily involved in overseeing all the projects and future initiatives. There is a dedicated Green Team overseeing the proposals and monitoring all changes, with meetings every three months to track progress and make improvements and suggestions.
Energy Efficiency
Our energy efficiency has been covered by the above, but we have implemented further efficiencies these include, LED lighting has been installed in the warehouse and offices to reduce electricity consumption. Heating in the office is now set to a timer and thermostat to ensure heat is only generated when required during office hours. All internal waste is separated to ensure it is all completely recycled or repurposed, this is taught in-house by the green team and monitored by all staff. Vehicles are washed on site and staff are advised to not keep the hose running but to fill a bucket to keep water usage to a minimum, this is included within the vehicle cleaning policy.
Our long-term objectives are to become net zero, the biggest contributor towards this will be the introduction of EV into our fleet. This is something that is regularly explored, we are still awaiting a model that can cope with the range, weight, and refrigeration of our vehicles but as soon as we find a solution we will purchase an Electric vehicle as soon as possible until all the fleet is electric.
Packaging
We are very conscious of the environment whilst procuring new products and improving current products. With this in mind we are always looking improving our packaging to make it as recyclable as possible, not just for Clegg’s but also our customers. One instance of this is the work we have done with our cooked meat supplier in 2020. They are now supplying the sliced cooked meats in recyclable clear trays as the previous black trays couldn’t be recycled due to the colour not being picked up by sensors at waste depots. We encourage the end user to reuse our empty plastic soft spread and mayonnaise tubs for storage of other products and not just through them away or spend money on storage tubs. Where possible the driver will empty the cardboard boxes we deliver in and take them away so we can re-use them, this helps reduce waste for the customer.
Many of our suppliers are reducing the amount of plastic used for packaging, removing shrink wrap where possible and making the outer components from cardboard or other recyclable material. Some of the plastics in our supply chain are changing to the newer more bio- degradable variants but the industry isn’t quite there yet. We will endeavour to work closely with suppliers to ensure we are only using the most sustainable packaging available.
Food Waste
Food Waste at Clegg’s in extremely minimal due to excellent procedures in place for stock ordering and surplus stock. Food waste accounts for less than 0.1% of purchased stock. Any items that have been returned due to quality issues will be returned to our supplier for investigations. Any items that are surplus due to cancelled orders or errors are gifted to staff or local food banks in the area.
During trade shows we will donate many products we have taken to the nominated food initiatives. We support schools on aligning with DEFRA’S resources and waste strategy by suggesting ways to remove waste such as using bigger pack sizes like 1kg ham instead of 2 x 500gm, reduces plastic waste. Our telesales will encourage schools not to use single use items such as sauce sachets and offer larger, refillable alternatives. Our staff will support the schools and share our knowledge in to reducing their own carbon footprint, just as we have and will continue to do into and beyond the term on the contrat.