BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, TOGETHER

STORIES ·
Farming | Mindful Living | Sustainability

Happy new year to you all.

Among the projects and plans I have for 2019, the start of a year always fills me with energy and renewed drive to build on the work we do at Daylesford: to continue to care for the health of the planet and to safeguard it for future generations.

Each year we assess our goals for the year, pledging to reduce our environmental footprint further, to give back to the earth and to replenish its resources wherever we can.

As the new year begins, I wanted to share the key pledges we are striving towards this year.

We do as much as we can in our own small corner of the Cotswolds, but it is through collective responsibility that real change happens and in sharing these with you, my hope is that you might be inspired to join us in our undertaking to make a difference and make some changes in your own life. By making the smallest adjustments to our individual habits, we have the power to drive impactful, enduring change on a wide scale.

At Daylesford, we drive innovation but together we can build a sustainable future.

We can all #bethechange.

mm852 Daylesford Organic

ZERO FOOD WASTE

Wasted food is one of the world’s largest contributors to climate change. The carbon emissions produced by food rotting in landfill are devastating the planet yet we could slash them by keeping food out of our bins. Last year we cut our food waste to zero.

We compost, reuse, recycle and donate leftover food to charity, and with what’s left we produce energy through anaerobic digestion. Fruit and vegetables that are beyond ripe don’t look beautiful, but they are packed with nutrition – perfect for soups, stews, breads, jams and stocks.

NATURE’S ENERGY

Our farm’s solar panels and biomass boilers generate enough natural, clean energy to power our farm, farmshops, cafés and production facilities ­– equivalent to powering 115 homes with electricity and 50 homes with heating each year.

Clean energy starts with cutting back on consumption. Turning off lights, switching to a clean energy supplier, using energy-efficient appliances and harvesting rainwater all help to reduce our energy dependence.

PACKAGE WITH PLANTS

Our goal is for all our packaging to be biodegradable, reusable or recyclable. We constantly strive to innovate and review the way we package and this year we successfully created bags in which the paper, plastic window and even the glue that holds everything together is made from plant cellulose, which is 100% compostable.

We’d rather not use packaging at all, so do remember sealable containers, travel mugs and your reusable bags when you are out and about.

RETHINK RATIOS

We cannot feed the world with current behaviours of consumption. Modern food trends have led to the production of calorie-rich, often nutritionally-poor food being consumed in a way that is wasteful and harmful to the land. Plants and animals require a harmonious balance. We care for high-welfare, organic livestock to rotate nutrients and build fertility in the soil so that plants, crops and pastures can thrive.

We believe in proportions: placing vegetables and plants at the centre of our plates; eating less meat, but when we choose to, better-quality, high welfare, organic meat.

FEED THE FUTURE

By farming organically, we work with nature’s rhythms and avoid the use of pesticides, antibiotics and artificial fertilisers. We create healthy habitats for wildlife and vital pollinators and we nourish the soil, the lifeblood of our farm and the means of sustaining life on earth as we know it.

By shopping and eating organically, you are choosing to invest not only in the long-term health of the planet but in the well-being of your family.