Going carbon neutral

Speciality Bites with

Paul Hargreaves

Chief executive of Cotswold Fayre

• Becoming a B Corp
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• Self-sacrifice: The importance of building a leadership legacy centred on others
• Undercover Boss
• Can/should bosses really be close friends with their staff?

By the time you read this, all Cotswold Fayre’s business activities will be carbon neutral.

We have announced this over the past month or so, so it maybe no surprise to some, but what has been a surprise to me is the reaction we have had from others, such as “How can you possibly do that?” or “That’s a bold statement to make!”  To be honest it has been surprisingly easy to achieve and there is no reason why any producer or retailer within the speciality food sector cannot achieve the same and thereby make a large difference combined.

As a B Corporation we have been actively reducing our carbon impact over the past couple of years anyway.  What we have been able to achieve this month is due to a large logistics switch and the ability to have better data.  Both have been achieved by changing our logistics partner to one that is closer to the heart of the UK population density and one that is aligned to us in their environmental thinking.  Due to far more of our deliveries going direct from our warehouse, combined with other company’s deliveries we have reduced the carbon output of our customers receiving our goods by 46%.  And due to our new logistics partner being keen to create a better world, they have spot on data on the amount of remaining output of the deliveries, which we offset by buying carbon credits that use projects in other parts of the world to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere.

So, even the most polluting company could be carbon neutral by offsetting, but a) this would cost a lot and b) it is not in the right spirit.  It is important that the offset is used only for the CO2 that can’t be reduced to nothing.  For example, a large part of our business involves delivering goods all over the UK and Ireland, and currently electric lorries are not able to deliver the distances we need.  So, what we have done is reduce our carbon as much as possible and then offset the rest.  As soon as electric lorries are available, firstly in London, we will be using them, and our carbon offset bill will be lower.  This is progress and will be facilitated by a logistics partner, who is 100% travelling in the same direction.  I only hope that the electric lorries when they arrive will be more productive than my new electric car, an Audi E-tron, which has been back to the garage three times in its first two months!  Such is the sacrifice of an early adopter!

We believe that we are the first wholesaler to go carbon neutral and we would encourage everyone to follow our example.  Climate change is real.  Businesses simply cannot wait for legislation to force them to be more environmentally-friendly.  They need to lead the way and encourage the legislation.  Why don’t you make a start to your carbon-neutral journey this week?