A Nottinghamshire egg products plant has teamed up with the McDonald’s restaurant group to boost its green credentials this Christmas as part of a new supply chain initiative launched by the government-funded Envirowise programme.

The Bilsthorpe plant of national company Deans Foods has joined the year-round initiative which is designed to encourage food and drink companies and their suppliers to reduce waste and save money - by using water, energy and raw materials more efficiently.

It employs 300 people at its Nottinghamshire site who process and pack pasteurised free range liquid egg for McDonalds.

Nigel Youd, Group Environmental Manager at Deans Foods – which has its headquarters in Hertfordshire - said: “As a proactive company Deans Foods is always looking for new techniques and technology to help us become more efficient and reduce our impact on the environment.

“Working in collaboration with McDonald’s and Envirowise enables us to establish a benchmark for performance and plan production more accurately so that we deliver an efficient service at the time required.

“This is particularly important during busy periods such as the run-up to Christmas when there are added pressures on the supply chain.”

The four-stage programme of activity, which should take about six months to implement, comprises an introductory workshop, free on-site waste reviews, targeted training workshops and impact assessment for all participating businesses. 

McDonald’s already has an environmental management programme for all its food and paper suppliers which addresses environmental impacts associated with growing, processing, converting, packaging and distributing food and packaging items.

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Jessica Sansom, Environment Manager at McDonald’s Restaurants Limited, said: “We felt that the Envirowise food and drink initiative was an excellent way of extending the work that we have already undertaken with our suppliers, including Deans Foods, by providing them with some practical advice and information on how to improve both their environmental and business performance.”

Deans Food joins the initiative as research by the Envirowise programme - which offers free, confidential advice to help businesses in all sectors reduce their environmental impact and identify costs savings – reveals that many of the UK’s retailers are failing to develop effective supply chain relationships.

The programme found that, whilst most retailers and wholesalers (91%) are in weekly contact with the supply chain, and see that value of effective supply chain management (94%), few are putting in place the collaborative programmes and processes that can underpin competitiveness and agility, particularly when under pressure.

Julie Adams, Envirowise Regional Manager for the East Midlands, said: “We would urge other large companies operating within the food and drink sector to follow the example set by McDonald’s and join us in this exciting new project. Both host companies and suppliers, such as Deans Food, can achieve significant cost savings and improved customer relationships from sharing best practice and working together to reduce their environmental impact.

“The programme is run by specialists who understand the industry and issues affecting it. Our experience has shown that improved resource efficiency can save up to one per cent of turnover by putting into place simple, low cost measures.”

To find out more about the Supply Chain Initiative - or for general advice on how to reduce waste and boost profits - visit www.envirowise.gov.uk or call the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794. 

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Notes to Editors:

Also working with Envirowise as host companies on the Food & Drink Supply Chain Initiative are Asda, Novotel, and Tate & Lyle.

The Supply Chain research was carried out for Envirowise by Critical 2 in September 2005, amongst retail and wholesale businesses employing between six and 250 people.

About Envirowise

Envirowise delivers a valuable programme of confidential advice to UK businesses.  This advice enables businesses to improve profitability by improving their environmental efficiency.

Independent, practical and proven guidance is available through the Envirowise Advice Line, information resources, delivered by a team of expert advisors.  Each solution is driven by the specific needs of individual firms, to genuinely improve their business practices, profitability and competitiveness.  Since 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save over £1 billion.

The Envirowise programme is available to any UK business, completely free of charge. For more information visit www.envirowise.gov.uk or call 0800 585 794.