A NEW toolkit has been launched to help food and drink businesses ‘go greener’ as they play their part in helping Scotland reach its net zero emissions target by 2045.

Industry leadership body, Scotland Food & Drink has unveiled it’s ‘Greening Your Business A Practical Guide for Food and Drink SMEs’ to provide practical support for SMEs in greening their businesses.

Aiming to reduce carbon emissions does not necessarily mean decreasing profitability. Many Scottish food and drink businesses are already implementing measures to improve their climate change credentials and in doing so are seeing a positive effect on their overall business.

Border Biscuits based in Lanarkshire, which supplies major customers across the UK and around the world, recently redesigned their packaging to reduce the amount of plastic by 90%.

This move is set to save 537 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions from the packaging manufacturing process and will reduce the number of vehicles needed to transport by 50%, further reducing costs and strengthening their brand and reputation for environmental responsibility.

Marketing Manager at Border Biscuits, Suzie Carlaw, said: “Innovating to reduce single-use plastic has been a key focus over the last 12 months and our new packaging means we can address the environmental concerns of our customers without compromising on the high quality of our beautifully crafted biscuit.”

With support from the Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland, the toolkit is designed to provide practical support to help food and drink businesses reduce their carbon footprint while still improving their bottom line.

Within the toolkit, businesses can find small changes to get started, long term ideas for making processes more efficient, sign posting for funding and one-to-one advice, and guidance on new legislation.

Scotland Food & Drink’s Strategy and External Relations Director, John Davidson, commented: “The Greening Your Business toolkit is a fantastic tool for Scotland’s food and drink businesses and something we are very excited about.

“By going greener, businesses have the ability to cut their bills, make their business more resilient, win new customers and contracts, tap into post pandemic consumer trends, and become an employer people want to work for.

“We have an opportunity to not only be leaders in sustainable and climate-friendly food and drink production, but also attract investment, financial support and future customers for the Scottish food and drink sector,” he explained.

“The opportunities are there for Scottish food and drink businesses to become more sustainable and this toolkit can help businesses grasp them.”

Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, Iain Gulland, said: “Food is one of the most carbon-intensive forms of waste there is. That gives food and drink businesses a huge opportunity – cutting waste at the source can go a long way to cutting emissions.

“Scotland’s food and drink businesses are already celebrated for the quality of their produce. Going net-zero is a chance to celebrate their environmental credentials, too.”

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing added that cutting waste is as good for businesses’ bank balances as it is for the planet: “As a result, this toolkit will give Scotland’s food and drink sector all they need to play their part in tackling climate change.

“I would encourage as many food and drink businesses as possible to use it to streamline processes, improve their sustainability and their profitability.

“This is also another valuable example of industry and the public sector working in partnership through the Food and Drink Recovery Plan to identify greener and sustainable solutions to the challenges that lie ahead.”

To access the toolkit, visit: https://foodanddrink.scot/resources/toolkits/greening-your-business/