The UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor has won two Treading Lightly Awards for its ‘100% Green’ sustainability initiative. The firm won both 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 was previously of no value. Its on-site biogas plant converts around 75,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste per year into energy and saves over 5 million kilos of carbon dioxide in the process. 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 Treading Lightly awards celebrate Waitrose suppliers’ green initiatives which 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 3rd generation family member. “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 we keep challenging our business to stay at the forefront of sustainable working practice.”

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