Jul 10th, 2024
6 mins
Greenyard Frozen UK is the largest supplier of British-grown produce to the UK frozen market, situated over two sites in the heart of the UK’s growing region – King’s Lynn in Norfolk and Boston in Lincolnshire – and part of the Belgian fruit and vegetable giant Greenyard.
Sustainability has been embedded in the core of Greenyard ever since it was founded by Hein Deprez in 1983. Forty years later, the company is a global leader in the fruit and vegetable industry, operating a unique business model and offering pure-plant food experiences in fresh, frozen and prepared categories.
Sustainability remains at the heart of the company, with a clear purpose: to improve life through pure-plant food experiences – connecting healthy lifestyles and sustainable food value chains. Within the frozen category, its business directly contributes to a healthier planet, reducing food waste and lowering its environmental impact by constantly optimising its operations.
Environmentally conscious
Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd is led by Brendan Legrove and has a committed Sustainability and Environmental team that monitor its ecological impact, ensuring that all future investment projects at Greenyard are as environmentally conscious as possible.
Its daily energy, carbon footprint and water usages are continually measured to maintain its progress towards its 2025 and 2030 sustainability goals. Since 2015, its direct carbon footprint has seen a 49% decrease, a trend it wishes to continue. Several sources of on-site energy generation contribute to this reduction: solar panels cover its cold store roofs and annually produce an average of 2.5 million kWh, approximately 5% of its total site usage.
Its King’s Lynn site features a biological water treatment plant incorporating anaerobic digestion technologies, treating wastewater produced during crop processing. This plant has reduced the company’s water COD levels by 97% in seven years!
As part of this process, Biogas is generated as a by-product, which is captured and stored within a biogas dome to supply a 600kW combined heat and power generator. The CHP produces 3% of site electricity and the by-product heat is also used to heat water.
A bright future
In 2022 Greenyard had its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets approved by the SBTi, in line with limiting global temperatures to 1.5C. Its corporate sustainability strategy is aligned with reaching this ambitious target and its localised strategy outlines incremental goals to ensure that it stays on track. It is important that all of the company’s employees are aware of progress, which is communicated on display boards and during inductions for new starters.
Neil Winner, UK Operations Director says: “After 40 years of working with the business, the importance and impact of this Award cannot be understated. It is without doubt a deserved reward for a dedicated team at Greenyard, after many years of tireless work in achieving incredible progress on a topic upon which our core values are based.
We will continue to develop the future roadmap for Greenyard, ensuring we are successful in the challenging drive of reducing our impact on the environment and realise the bright future which lies ahead within an ecologically focused world.”
On 14th June 2024 The Lady Dannatt MBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk attended the Kings Lynn site to present the award to Brendan Legrove, General Manager UK and Ireland and Neil Winner, Operations Director UK joined on site by Deputy Lieutenant, David Goddard, Mayor and Mayoress of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, Paul and Marion Bland.
