Growing Collaboratively

We work in partnership with our growers, of which we have 35 local NI farmers situated within 60 miles of our mill, 60 growers from the Republic of Ireland and 35 organic farmers in the UK. These partnerships allow us to engage collaboratively and bring about best practice with the aim of delivering a sustainable and high-quality oat crop.

This form of collaborative working is integral to supporting White’s sustainable sourcing model. It ensures a fully traceable grain supply, drives on farm yield improvements and promotes the positive environmental credentials of oats.

Growing with Nature

A number of our growers are involved in Environmental Stewardship, from managed habitats such as wild bird cover to provide feed over winter, pollinators, rough grass margins which provide nesting for birds to natural habitats- hedgerows, woodlands and wetlands. Many of the farms are LEAF accredited (linking environment with farming) with the LEAF marque being a leading global assurance system recognising more sustainably farmed products.

Operating Responsibly

We have embarked on a journey to reduce our GHG emissions to support efforts to combat climate change. Renewable energy procurement is our priority and in January 2021 we switched to 100% renewable grid electricity for our operations.

We’re doing our bit to reduce the energy usage in our offices through energy efficient equipment and making sure all equipment is turned off at the end of the day to reduce vampire loads and switching to LED lighting, which we aim to have fully transitioned to by Dec 21. In 2020, we also started to introduce paperless offices.

Achievements to Date

• Switched to 100% renewable electricity, offsetting 724.2 tonnes of scope 2 carbon emissions

• 50% of our factory lighting is now LED powered
• We have signed up to the All Ireland Pollinator Plan and as part of our year one commitment, we have planted a wild flower meadow and installed pollinator friendly planters around the mill

Targets

• Become carbon neutral in our direct operations by Dec 2021 (scope 1 and 2) through offsetting
• Use 100% renewable energy across all our direct operations
• Implement a carbon management strategy