Empowering Tomorrow’s Taste with Today’s Responsibility: Our Commitment to Sustainable Food Manufacturing
Here at GCL we are committed to a sustainable business model creating a better future for all.
Our commitment to sustainability
Here at GCL Food Ingredients, we are committed to sustainability in every aspect of our operations. We recognize the profound impact that food production can have on the environment, and we are dedicated to minimizing our footprint while maximizing our positive contributions to the planet and the communities we serve.
At GCL we take pride in our dedicated ESG team who focuses on improving our sustainability initiatives. Our recently appointed ESG Compliance Officer- Gabor Balasy, aims to train, educate, guide and mentor future sustainability champions at each department, fostering efforts to minimise our carbon footprint in production. Additionally, he liaises with customers and suppliers to ensure we are on track to meet our sustainability goals and comply with regulations.
Responsible sourcing
We believe that sustainability begins at the source. We are committed to sourcing and providing food and drink produced to the highest environmental, social, and economic standards. That’s why we carefully select our ingredients from suppliers who share our commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. At GCL we strive to minimize the environmental and social impact of our supply chain, currently 90% of our operations are SEDEX registered, we aim for 100% where practicable. We are also red tractor certified which means our food has been responsibly sourced and safely produced which comes from crops and animals that have been well cared for. We have also re-directed our product range and now produce plant-based meat analogues, this currently accounts for 3% of our current turnover with the aim to increase this to 5% by the end of 2024 which will increase benefits to environmental impact.
Product Range
To ensure that our we are up to standard of sustainable practices we undertake monthly horizon scanning and to assist this process we are members of Food Forensics with access to their food fraud database. We are also working with our Italian suppliers of PDO cheeses e.g Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano to ensure that the supplying dairy farms are working towards meeting the requirements of the Italian ClassyFarm platform.
ClassyFarm is an Italian initiative which provides an integrated system aimed at categorising farms based on risk. This allows the Italian dairy farming community to monitor, analyse and target interventions to ensure compliance with the EU Animal Welfare legislation.
Energy Efficiency
Reducing energy consumption is a cornerstone of our sustainability efforts. We aim to continuously invest in energy-efficient technologies and practices to minimize our carbon footprint. From optimizing our manufacturing processes to investing in renewable energy sources, we are committed to doing our part to combat climate change.
Things we are doing:
- We have implemented air source heating to reduce our gas usage by 35%
- All our operations are powered by 100% renewable energy reducing our carbon emissions.
- We are switching our small fleet of company vehicles to plug-in electric vehicles which is now 80% complete with the aim to be 100% all electric vehicles by 2026. – Electric car charging points have been installed on site for the current plug-in vehicles we operate.
- We are Increasing production efficiency by implementing lean manufacturing principles, aiming for a certain percentage reduction in production costs.
Waste Reduction
We aim to use effective strategies and tools to tackle food wastage and surplus in line with the food wate reduction roadmap produced by WRAP and IDG. We understand the importance of reducing waste throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. That’s why we employ strategies to minimize waste at every stage, from production to packaging to distribution. Whether it’s through composting food waste, recycling packaging materials, or implementing innovative reuse programs, we are constantly seeking new ways to minimize our environmental impact by:
- Segregation and recycling food waste via our food waste collection partner (Veolia)
- Segregation and recycling all glass waste via our glass cullet collection partner (URM)
- Segregation and recycling all card waste via our card collection partner (Max Waste)
- Recycling all our used cooking oil for generating biogas via our collection partner (Brocklesby)
Water Conservation
Water is a precious resource, and we are dedicated to conserving it in our operations. We strive to minimize water usage through efficient irrigation practices, water recycling systems, and responsible wastewater management. By prioritizing water conservation, we not only reduce our environmental impact but also support the long-term sustainability of the communities in which we operate. We do this by having a dedicated team who aim to optimise our water usage through our cleaning procedures, we have implemented spray bars that will clean conveyors, these have venturi sprays that pressurise reduced amounts of water to obtain correct cleaning standard whilst reducing water consumption and excess water to drains.
Packaging
Here at GCL we’ve been implementing our own sustainability initiatives in an effort to combat waste and inefficiency. including but not limited to; paper/ cardboard/ plastic recycling from both our office and factory facilities. Glass is also separated, cleaned, and recycled, recently we’ve implemented new packaging formats internally and with some of our customers.
Things that we are currently doing:
- Consolidation of box sizes offered to customers to reduce cardboard waste.
- Reduction in (microns) Mµ of films and food sealing barrier packaging, to reduce waste whilst not compromising food safety.
- Bag in Box: With a dedicated production line, GCL are now producing wine in 20 litre ‘bladders’ made of recycled material, avoiding unnecessary plastics/cardboard in the process and offering a circular delivery fleet of trays which house each bladder.
“With plastic taxes hitting supply chains, plus our ongoing carbon reduction programme, this supply of liquids offers a great solution for our customers.” – Salvatore De Vivo (MD)
Continuous Improvement
Sustainability is an ongoing journey, and we are committed to continuously improving our practices and setting ambitious goals for the future. We regularly monitor our environmental performance, conduct audits, and seek feedback from stakeholders to ensure that we are meeting our sustainability objectives and making meaningful progress toward a more sustainable future.
At GCL Food Ingredients, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a core value that guides everything we do. From responsible sourcing to waste reduction to community engagement, we are committed to making a positive impact on the planet and leaving a legacy that future generations can be proud of.
Join us on our journey toward a more sustainable future. Together, we can make a difference.
