The First UK Carbon Neutral Egg

Here at the Lakes Free Range Egg Company we are aiming to become the first UK carbon neutral, sustainable egg packing operation. Always trying to be at the forefront of innovation, we are installing modern technologies and equipment to make us more effective and sustainable. By February 2011 most of this will be in place and we also hope to have some other exciting news too.

We’ve been developing our plans for three years, aiming specifically at ways to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2013. One of the added benefits of our changes is that it will also speed up our packing process by 60%, improving our quality control and making us a much more versatile operation.

We have always been innovators in the world of free range egg production so we see this as just another natural progression, it is pioneering and enhances our ethical credentials. More importantly, it will be a real benefit for supermarkets that will be looking for more ethical, sustainable and environmental benefits for their customers.

In the future, we will be heated with solid fuel, using trees from our sustainably planted chicken ranges and factory waste, with ground source geothermal heating for domestic areas. 

We think one of key innovations is the new building management system - it involves automating all electrical and mechanical systems. There will not be a single light switch in the entire building; if the building senses there is no one in an area or in the building it shuts that area down. This is far more efficient than relying on people to switch lights off!

Other features which help us cut GHG emissions include using insulation on all walls and roofs that’s up to 300mm thick, prolific use of Photovoltaic cells for solar power and rainwater harvesting for non food critical site use. We have also introduced state of the art LED lighting using 70% less energy than normal.

At the Lakes Free Range Egg Company we already have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry. Combined with strong ethical credentials, this latest innovative development has helped us raise the bar in ethical egg production for the future.  We are of course very grateful for the help and support we have had along the way – especially to the ERDP (England Rural Development Programme) who have part funded our plans to modernize and reduce carbon emissions.

Anyone interested in learning more about how our  Lakes Free Range Egg Co. production process works can contact me, David Brass on 01768 890 460 or visit www.lakesfreerange.co.uk