Food manufacturing excellence awards
United Biscuits wins top environmental award
Bob Brightwell, head of corporate communication for the manufacturer of well-known biscuit brands such as McVitie’s, received the award from Shankar Narayanan, country manager UK and Ireland with category sponsor Tata Consultancy. They were joined on stage by awards host and Countryfile TV star Julia Bradbury at the London Park Lane Hilton in a glittering awards ceremony last week.
The award judges – led by judging panel chairman Paul Wilkinson – praised United Biscuits’ commitment to green issues and managed employee ownership of its environmental programme.
‘35% cut in carbon emissions’
The judges said: “From a 35% cut in carbon emissions to zero waste to landfill, from 20M fewer road miles to 100% sustainable palm oil use, the results have been just massive. United Biscuits shone through in what was probably the most hotly contested category of the awards.”
United Biscuits began its environmental programme in 2008 by canvassing the views of its staff. The request generated more than 200 ideas and half were implemented. The result was that from the beginning the firm’s staff took ownership of the environmental programme as it quickly became embedded in the company’s culture.
Environmentally-friendly transport
Key targets included reducing carbon emissions, reducing waste, cutting water use, promoting environmentally-friendly transport, reducing packaging and sustainable sourcing.
Also shortlisted in this category were: Bernard Matthews, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Iglo Foods Group.
The winner of the overall title Food manufacturing company of the year was Premier Foods.
Read the full list of winners and shortlisted candidates here.
Competitor company Burton’s Biscuits, maker of Jammie Dodgers, was sold last week (November 20) to the Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers Pension Plan in a deal valued by the industry at about £340M.
Meanwhile, could your food or drink manufacturing business challenge Premier Foods for the crown next year? Register your interest for next year’s FMEAs here.
