Anthony Murray
East of England Co-op has received the Greenest Business Award at the Creating the Greenest County Awards.
The awards were a celebration of the environmental excellence of different organisations across Suffolk and highlighted how individuals, communities, businesses and schools were leading the way in creating a cleaner, greener county.
Glyn Lee, energy manager at East of England, said: “Over many years, we’ve been working hard to reduce our impact on the environment and reduce our energy consumption.
“So we are thrilled to receive this award which recognises the improvements we’ve made to our operations through things like food waste recycling and careful water use management.
“It also recognises our contribution to the wider Green Economy – for instance, through our Sourced Locally programme which is cutting down food miles and re-investing into local businesses.”
Judges of the category, sponsored by Invest in Suffolk, praised the co-op’s green credentials through a range of measures which include:
All electricity bought from green sources such as wind farms and hydro-electric generators
Solar panels installed at Wherstead Park HQ and other buildings generating 45,000 kWh of energy and saving 25 tonnes of CO2 a year
A successful programme to turn food waste into energy and agricultural fertiliser through anaerobic digestion
More than 75% of waste recycled through a range of measures including anaerobic digestion, cardboard and plastics processing systems
More than 100 million carrier bags saved from landfill.
The co-operative’s Local Sourcing policy was also recognised for its achievement in cutting food miles by working with over 140 local suppliers to help ensure many can deliver products direct from their factories and fields straight into stores.
Mr Lee added: “Through our Pathfinder Partner programme, we’re keen to support all our local suppliers in demonstrating their own green business credentials by signing up to the Suffolk Carbon Charter run by Suffolk County Council and the Environment Agency.
“So far, more than 25 of our suppliers have been accredited through the scheme, with more being accredited this year.
“Winning an award like this only strengthens our resolve to continue to reduce our impact on the environment and encourage others in the region to follow suit. It’s what we do, because it’s the right thing to do.”
East of England Co-op was also sponsor of the awards’ Local Food and Drink category – won by the Castle Partnership Academy Trust.