Industry leading egg packing to minimise our carbon footprint
Here at The Lakes Free Range Egg Company, we are always looking for ways to cut our carbon footprint, minimising our impact on the environment. We do this throughout our production process, from farm to packing station.
Our producers use naturally ventilated hen housing – cutting energy consumption by 70%. Back at the egg packing centre, we have made pioneering steps to create an egg packing facility with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the UK.
Carbon neutral egg packing centre
After years in a smaller egg packing facility, David Brass, our owner and Chief Executive, designed the new, state of the art egg packing centre that is leading edge in technology and minimises our carbon footprint. There are no light switches – it’s all automated and technology allows for production growth without increasing energy requirement. Initiatives include utilising car robots to pack eggs and lasering technology to avoid the need for labels. The centre achieved carbon neutrality in 2016.
Harnessing the elements
Making use of the weather we harness the elements. We use recycled rainwater – cutting our water use by 50%. Solar panels in fields provide shelter for our hens and create solar energy to power the egg packing station– along with energy from ground source heat pumps and two biomass boilers.
- Waste to landfill nil –achieved 2012
- Harvested rainwater reduces water consumption by 50%
- Biomass boilers recycle waste pallets and tree thinning’s from ranges and generate 400kw heat
- Ground source heat pumps
- Solar panels
- Factory generates 100% own energy
- New equipment means greater output on same energy
- Installation of a district heating system, exporting excess energy to heat homes in our village
- New technology will cut label use saving 10 tonnes of paper year
We do as much as we can to ensure we maintain the smallest carbon footprint.