3m grass & wild flower strip

Its been a tough winter for everybody, but it has been especially tough on our farm,with the wet and cold every job takes twice as long to complete and the backlog of work just piles up, hence things have been quiet on the blogging front.

The good news is we have worked throe the work load especially altering the farm to Higher Level Conservation status, this has been created by various environmental projects such as raising the water table on the marshes via dams and gulley’s to create a wetland habitat for waders such as wild ducks, geese, lapwing, snipe etc, planting 3,000 mixed hedging plants, not fun when its -7 wind chill, we have also built a 200m raised soil bank called a Beetle bank, guess what for?.

We have also planted grass strips of various widths, 2m-4m-6m, around most of our fields, in the region of 3,000m-4,000m in length and mixed in with the different grasses is  wild flowers, some of the flowers are for pollen and nectar for the bees, some for seeds for small birds, some  to re- introduce the wild native flowers of years gone by.

It has been hard work but now spring is here we are seeing the first green shoots of what will be an exiting 10 year project.

Hot on its heels followed the publication of the Waste Strategy 2000 (WS2000) which contained the following targets relating to recycling, composting and re-use of domestic waste:

• 25% of domestic waste to be recycled / composted by 2005
• 30% of domestic waste to be recycled / composted by 2010
• 33% of domestic waste to be recycled / composted by 2015
• All Individual local authorities should recycle / compost 30% of waste by 2005/2006

With sustainability of products, resources and packaging becoming ever more important it is more crucial than ever that these targets are achieved.

Have the U.K.’s recycling targets being met?

In the decade or so since the publication of WS2000 reductions in waste and increases in recycling appear impressive.

According to figures published by DEFRA last month (Nov 2012) 43% of household waste was recycled in England, on average –  households creating 22.9 million tonnes of waste and local authorities recycling, composting or reusing 10.7 million tonnes of it (although this includes waste sent to incineration).

The actual amount of waste generated by households has fallen year on year since 2007/8, and the amount of waste going to landfill was smaller than that recycled, compost it or reused for the first time (which puts the issue into perspective, somewhat).

A quick comparison with the WS2000 first 3 targets at the beginning of this post show that current recycling rates, on average, actually exceed those called for by at least 10%.

Differences in Individual local authority recycling rates

Being an average figure, there are many individual local authorities achieving recycling rates both above and below 43%.

2011’s reported waste figures showed the 2 top performing councils, Rochford and South Oxfordshire, achieved respective rates of 65.79% and 65.11% – both well above the current average.

More recent figures show that local authorities in Wales are performing strongly, the highest achieving being Denbighshire at 60.5% – even the lowest performing (Rhondda Cynon Taf
) managed an above average 44%.

There still remains, however, a sizeable disparity between the highest and lowest performers with not all local authorities in managing to recycle or reuse the target figure of 30% for all individual local authorities.

For example, figures for November 2011 show Ashford borough council only recycled 14% of the household waste it collected.

So why the Disparity in Recycling rates?

Overall the speed and size of recycling rate increase has slowed since 2008 – although given the large improvement that took place between 2000 and 2007 this is understandable.

The highest performing boroughs, however, have also been accused of “Cheating” by Green Party members for having included waste sent for incineration in their figures – where other local authorities may not have.

The ongoing recession has also been blamed by many for this decrease, with funding cuts having an effect on the services local authorities can offer – although it has been suggested that consumers are buying less packaged products which should soften this effect.

Countless suppliers could be involved in the manufacture and delivery of the most basic packaging product – from the production of raw materials, design, marketing and final production.

Sometimes the process can become so complicated that the retailer using the product (let alone the consumer purchasing it) cannot be 100% sure what the packaging material contains or where all it’s ingredients originate.

So is there any way to be sure where packaging comes from? - or are manufacturers and retailers deliberately misleading consumers as to the origins and sustainability of their products?

Do manufacturers know where their packaging comes from?

Packaging has always been an important part of selling products – companies that have long competed against each other are constantly looking for an edge, and packaging can provide that edge.

Obviously the quantity and sustainability of packaging is an important part of this practice in today’s market.
For example, plant-based plastics are now used by big companies like Heinz and Coca-Cola, they’ve both taken measures to reduce the amount of packaging used for both reasons of cost and good publicity (And possibly, if you’re not a cynic, to help the environment).

Ensuring the provenance of the materials retailers use to package their products has always been an issue which occasionally leads to some embarrassment.

In 2011 toys and games manufacturer Mattel suffered one such situation when packaging for their Barbie dolls was tested and paper fibres which could be traced back to unsustainably deforested areas in Indonesia were found.

Are manufacturers deliberately misleading consumers?

Consumers rely on the information supplied to them by manufacturers, the media and institutions – the above example involving Mattel could easily have been an oversight given the size and complexity of their operation.

An EU report published in 2012, however found that there were many types of misleading practice related to packaging occurring in the marketplace –  mainly relating to either the quantity or quality of the product or packaging.

Perhaps, more disturbingly, the report mentions that there is no actual legal definition of “misleading packaging practices” either in the EU or at member states level!

So, how do you know where packaging comes from?

The short answer is that, currently, it’s very difficult.

The EU report mentioned above identifies some measures that could help deal with misleading packaging practices – they mainly concern amending directives, creating databases and establishing standards – none of which sound particularly exciting or decisive.

So in the short it would seem product manufacturers, retailers and consumers have to rely on the information provided by packaging manufacturers themselves and consumer / enviromental groups such as Leon Kaye, founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com.

In previous posts we’ve mentioned both life-cycle assessments and carbon footprint reports carried out by respected 3rd parties (like the UEA Low Carbon Report report on Leavs Eco Packaging).

Another obvious option for ensuring full knowledge of where you’re packaging comes from is by reducing the size of the supply chain – which is exactly what we’ve tried to do by using materials from our South Norfolk farm to produce our sustainable packaging material.

The study’s conclusions have been compiled from the responses of more than 500 of Packaging World’s and foodproductiondaily.com’s subscribers – most of whom, unsurprisingly enough, are either in or closely connected to the packaging industry.

The report itself can be downloaded directly from the DuPont website, although a rather more concise summation of its findings can be found on environmentalleader.com

Packaging price versus sustainability

Uncontroversially, one of the study’s findings is that 59% of those who responded believed that price is still the most important factor in the packaging industry – but when asked what they expect to happen over the next decade, both in Europe and the US, cost falls below sustainability in the list of priorities.

Shanna Moore, global sustainability director at DuPont, stated

Why would anyone want to pay more for packaging than they already do?

It seems to be a question of an expected change in the priorities of industry, farming and food production that will take place in the coming years, the main catalyst being environmental change.

Tellingly, the study expects the second most important factor in packaging (after sustainability) to food safety and security – with cost coming in third.

One respondent added the comment

Consumers are expected to put increased value on the perceived eco-friendliness of the packaging that products arrive in and will want to see proof of any claims made as to the sustainability of any packaging product used.

(Like our extensive eco packaging carbon report carried out by an internationally renowned university, for example)

Other expected trends in packaging

The increased influence of government regulation regarding the manufacture and use of packaging is expected, with 82% of respondents believing this will be a major factor in future packaging design.

65% also felt that the current trend for flexible packaging replacing reaches materials such as polystyrene will continue.

It is also suggested that in order for industries to implement a more sustainable packaging model businesses should contact and life-cycle assessment into the environmental impact of their current packaging solutions.

Alternatively they would be more than welcome to visit the Leavs Ltd farm! (by appointment, of course)

We got on so well that I made a return journey in September to speak with Cranfield University’s Sustainable Design-led Innovation (SDI) team to see how their expertise help Leavs become as sustainable as possible.

SDI is a business support program part funded by the European Union, created to specifically help small and medium-sized businesses based in the East of England involved in the sustainable sector.

Luckily Leavs Ltd ticks all those boxes – and ever the pragmatist, I could not resist finding out their ideas about what direction my eco-packaging should take!

The SDI team with Richard Wright of Leavs Ltd

Sustainability Brainstorming session

My visit started with a meeting to discuss the specific challenges that face Leavs Ltd, the aim being to further develop our sustainable packaging solution by exploring:

1. Current product improvement in terms of presence and sustainable production
2. Appropriate marketing strategies for the product showcase to the target audiences
3. New product development opportunities in the current business model

The session was conducted by SDI experts Dr Leon Williams, Professor Simian Bolton and Justyna Spurtacz.  We were also joined by a group of PhD Researchers.

Once we’d discussed almost every conceivable aspect of Leavs packaging the team went away and produced a comprehensive 18 page report detailing their ideas and recommendations.

The SDI Team report’s main recommendation

The SDI team suggest that the unique selling point of the our eco packaging is in its unrepeatable mixture and Season-ability.

This certainly seems to be the case when you look at other types of packaging – whether sustainable or not – they are very uniform. Every package will come out looking much the same.

Obviously many sellers do not care and/or actively want this consistency  - but for those who want their customers to feel special and individual, Leavs Packaging is the answer.

The team suggest that this trait could be explored in the packaging of luxury items such as quality wines, perfumes and gifts – introducing the products inherent seasonality and a variety of colour schemes to our range of packaging.
They even suggest that the development of an umbrella brand should be considered to specifically appeal to this sector.

A strong narrative to underpin the brand is also recommended in order to achieve a consistent high quality experience of the packaging solution that Leavs provides.

We’ve already started this process by creating content on our site about Leavs eco packaging is harvested and produced.

So was the process useful?

The consultation and report have been immensely useful – we highly recommend their services to any other sustainable projects based in their catchment area.

Many of the ideas about the direction our sustainable packaging should take have been confirmed, and a few new avenues of possibility have been highlighted.

Visit the Cranfield University website to find out more about the SDI team and how to get in touch with them.

The Green Deal scheme was first announced by the U.K.’s newly elected coalition government back in 2010 – It was proposed as a way for British homes to install expensive eco-technologies (such as installation, solar panels or efficient boilers) at no upfront cost.
It’s been a 2 year wait, but at the beginning of this month (October 2012) the scheme was finally launched!

How does the green deal scheme work?

Initially Green Deal scheme will be piloted in 7 cities, Which are:

• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Leeds
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Nottingham
• Sheffield

Home owners registering scheme will be assessed by a Green Deal Assessor, whose role is to inspect and assess the building and work out what energy-saving technologies might be useful.

If the estimated savings on energy bills equal or exceed the cost of work to be carried out, the homeowner will be eligible for the scheme.

The work will be carried out by an approved supplier,  the cost of which will be collected via the homeowner’s energy supplies who will calculate the money saved each month as a result of the installation.

The most common type of work carried out is expected to be solid wall insulation (which can be prohibitively expensive for homeowners without assistance) and the replacement of old boilers with new, efficient condensing boilers.

Are there any problems with the idea?

So far this all sounds fantastic (as long as you are a homeowner, that is) but, as with any initiative, there are potential problems.
Currently the most obvious problem is the lack of major retailers, such as supermarkets and major DIY stores, who support the scheme.

Both B&Q and Marks & Spencer have adopted a wait and see attitude – possibly waiting to see how the pilot scheme goes.  Tesco has pretty much rejected any involvement, stating that they already have a range of energy efficient options for their customers.
Another big question mark is that something like the Green Deal scheme has never been tested before, so even experts in the field are unsure whether it will work.

Oxford University’s Jan Rosenow was quoted in the Guardian as saying “it may work, but there is a high chance it will not.” – and Andrew Warren, director of The Association For the Conservation of Energy says if the correct incentives are in place then the scheme could work.

Lastly the way the repayment of work carried out is handled means loans are actually attached to the property (rather than the homeowner), meaning future buyers will be paying for past owners improvements.

So, on balance is the Green Deal Scheme worth it?

Whilst there are well founded doubts over the scheme’s ability to succeed, the government is putting in place incentives to encourage early adopters and avoid failure.

They have already committed £200 million to pay for work carried out in the short term, and the possibility of council tax rebates being considered.

Currently public awareness of the scheme is low – which will need to be improved if the scheme is to succeed .  This does, however, mean that early adopters could benefit from extra “sweeteners” added as a result of the governments desire to see the scheme succeed.

So, in conclusion, if you are lucky enough to live in one of the 7 pilot scheme cities and are feeling brave this could be worth following up!

I normally get up at 6am and start the day with a good strong mug of coffee and catch the early morning news and all important weather forecast.

I will walk to work at about 6.45am – as I live on the farm it takes me all of 2 minutes!
(For those people who commute to work this may sound like heaven but the down side is I am on call 24/7 living “on the job”.)

Breakfast for the livestock (animal and human!)

The first job of the day is to check and feed the livestock, cattle and chickens, this will take about an hour and a half.

Then its back to the house for a my own hearty breakfast, to plan the day ahead and deal with any phone calls and emails.

At about 9am we start getting ready for a day harvesting!

Checking the machinery

The next job will be to service and check the combine and the tractors which cart the corn from the fields to the barns, for a full day harvesting this will take about 2 hours.

Servicing the combine is a dirty job being such a large machine with lots of greasy, moving parts.

Is the Corn ready to be harvested?

The next job around 11am is to check the moisture of the corn which is to be harvested, ideally it needs to be 14.5% moisture.

This is crucial to harvesting, if the moisture is too high the combine will struggle to thresh the corn and harvest / the corn will potentially rot in the barn over winter.

If the conditions are right then its all systems go!

The harvest begins!

Once we start harvesting we try to carry on without stopping.

I drive the combine and my father, Ronnie, carts the corn from the field to the barn.

There is only have a short window of opportunity to gather the crop while it is in perfect condition, so we will have lunch on the go.

Even emptying the corn from the combine into the trailer is done on the move with some precision driving.

The straw we use for animal bedding and Leavs packaging comes out of the back of the combine.

Combining will stop when the corn gets to / above 14.5% moisture, this will normally be about 8 or 9pm on a dry day and is caused by mist etc. as the sun goes down.

Then its back to the farm, check and feed the livestock and call it a day at about 10.00pm.

What happens to the Harvest?

The corn we grow will be stored in barns and will be used for a variety of products.

• The wheat we grow will be used for animal feed
• The barley is used to make malt which goes to breweries and distilleries

The crop you can see harvested in this post is a variety of malting barley called Concerto, contracted to be sold to the Talisker distillery on the isle of Skye. (we don’t receive any free samples unfortunately!)

The straw will be used for overwintering bedding for the cattle on our farm and for inclusion in Leavs packaging.

But as anyone who’s read our previous post on green washing will know, promoting your green credentials to suspicious consumers needs to be carefully considered.

Cynical use of the green “card” has led to a few unhelpful preconceptions becoming common – the expectation that environmentally friendly products will be more expensive and/or less effective than their non-green counterparts being amongst them.

As an eco-friendly business ourselves we face all these problems when promoting our own products, so we’ve decided to share some things we bare in mind when promoting our own green credentials.

What do you actually do that’s green?

When promoting your business is green credentials it is important to 1st identify what you do with these actively green, as opposed to coincidently green.

For example a post on the blog Green Times criticised a drinks company for making a selling point that they were using 15% less plastic in their bottles – an act that was most likely a result of an improved industrial process rather than environmental concern.

Only make a song and dance about the things that you’ve taken the time and care to ensure are environmentally friendly.

For instance, using e-mail marketing instead of mail shots may have less environmental impact but the decision to use it was probably financial and therefore coincidental.
Whereas changing your energy supplier to an renewable provider is an active green decision.

Make sure your green claims are real

Environmentally minded shoppers tend to be well informed and quick to notice any flaw in your products credibility.

The 2011 Open green gap trend Tracker survey reported that around 43% of consumers actively seek out environmental information about products they purchase –  so logically speaking if that information is not available or appears untrustworthy sales are likely to suffer.

At Leavs we commissioned an independent report on our products environmental impact by a world renowned university and made it available on our website – you don’t necessarily need to go to this length but you do need to substantiate any green claim made – A bit of research now will avoid awkwardness later on!

Green Oil, one of our customers, specialise in eco-friendly bicycle supplies – they provide visitors to their site with a wealth of information about the impact conventional lubricants etc have on the environment.

Their website is a good example of how knowledge and passion for green values can be communicated to customers.

Don’t over do it

It’s worth remembering that your product or service has still got to perform as well, if not better than its conventional, environmentally “unfriendly” rivals.

If you rely solely on green credentials you are likely to arouse suspicions in what we’ve already established is a well informed, “can’t pull the wool over my eyes” sort of a customer.

Remember to promote your product/service’s effectiveness irrespective of its eco-credentials – not everything has to be about its ability to save the planet single-handed!

The Christmas season is likely to be the busiest period of the year for most retailers when, hopefully, they will see sizeable increases in customers visiting their businesses (whether online or off-line) – but unless well-prepared this increase in custom might not translate into a proportionate increase in profit.

This is why it’s essential to prepare as early as possible for the Yuletide season.

Common mistakes retailers should avoid when preparing for Xmas

Ill prepared and stressed

The most important reason for starting to prepare now is to reduce the amount of stress you, your staff and your business is put under during the festive period.

Make sure you have scheduled all your preparations in advance, and doublecheck that nothing has been forgotten.

Taking on too many staff

It’s always difficult to judge exactly how many people you need, but be very careful about overstaffing – having to pay too many employees will seriously dent your profit.

Once again, preparation is key to being able to judge how many staff are required – if you start now planning rota’s now you should be halfway there.

Failing to collect customer details

Recording customer contact details visit hugely important part of gaining repeat business throughout the year – but in the heat of the moment it is easily forgotten!

Make sure you put in place reliable systems to collect this information when customers make purchases.

Christmas preparation actions for retailers

Stock up on packaging and branded items

Well we would say that, wouldn’t we!

But it’s worth considering that if you run out off bags, boxes or your favourite type of eco-packaging void fill that you might not be able to obtain more at short notice.

Promotions and loyalty offers

Create a promotion or loyalty offer to entice customers back over the Christmas period.

Thinking of what presents to buy can be hard work, so if you can make the decision easier in advance for people a certain proportion sure to take you up on the offer.

Make preparations to make your shop festive

this applies whether you sell on or off line.

Plan your Christmas decorations and make sure they are executed proficiently – a bad job will probably do more damage than good!

Prepare for the January sales

Christmas is not the end of it – there are still lots of opportunities for sales in January.

Make sure you have similar plans in place (i.e. loyalty offers, sufficient stocks of products and packaging etc) further the post-Christmas period too.

Start now and reap the benefits

Hopefully the points I’ve collected here will help you get started on your Christmas preparations – the sooner you start planning and putting measures in place the great your chance of a profitable and happy New Year.

Look out for our own Leavs ltd loyalty promotion soon!

But, unfortunately, a common perception is that reducing a business’s impact on the environment, retail or otherwise, is simply an additional expense, both in time and money – a luxury few businesses have at this (or any other) time.
But is this correct?

The quickest way to make money?  Save money!

Profit doesn’t necessarily mean more a greater turnover – by reducing your costs you can make more money available for that yacht you been promising myself.

The Carbon Trust provide help and advice to businesses wishing to reduce their carbon footprint, and number 1 on their list of things to do it using energy more efficiently.

“A 20% cut in energy costs represents the same bottom line benefit as a 5% increase in sales.”  (Source:http://www.carbontrust.com)
Their PDF download on Energy Management In Retail contains lots of useful information for retailers looking to reduce their energy costs.

By-Product Synergy anyone?

By-Product synergy is a clever way of saying that you’re using stuff that would have previously been discarded as waste material.
In her article Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit, Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Deishin Lee states “You need to ask what are your resources, and how can we organize to maximize the value we create?”.

On the most basic level this might mean and reusing waste ( i.e. cardboard boxes, the reverse of printed sheets of paper etc) rather than throwing it in the rubbish – thereby reducing commercial waste disposal costs.

Potentially additional revenue streams can be opened up by creating new products from by-products that might otherwise be thrown away (Leavs eco packaging is made mostly from by-products from our South Norfolk Farm)

Promote your green credentials

Regular readers of our blog will know what we think of GreenWashing (it’s not good!) – But if you’ve taken a real and effective steps to make your business eco-friendly then why not let your customers know.

Helping to protect the environment we all live in can only be a good thing after all!

Get started on going green

The route to become more environmentally friendly will be different for every business, and as with all things (well, most) it’s best done with a bit of planning.

A good place to start is by using BusinessLink’s Going Green tool designed to help you identify how you might be able to save money by taking green measures.

The measures you take, and profit you achieve, might be great or small but whatever they might be any reduction in emissions and waste is a positive outcome!