Mey scores Scottish first on carbon label

Published Date: 29 March 2009
By Rosemary Gallagher

A FOOD company backed by Prince Charles, has become the first Scottish consumer goods firm to get official recognition of its commitment to cutting its carbon footprint.
The label will be put on all Mey Selections' goods from May 1. In response to the threat of climate change, Mey has been working with the Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by the UK Government, since February last year to quantify and reduce footprint for its key products.The Carbon Trust said businesses benefit through better supplier relationships and greater trust among consumers. John Strak, managing director of Mey Selections, said: "Not only are we the first Scottish-based consumer goods company to achieve the certification, we are one of the first food and drink companies to become involved with the initiative."He added that the firm was committed to using sustainable standards of farming, fishing and food production, so looking for ways to reduce its impact on the environment was a natural next step. Strak said the carbon reduction label footprinting process provided it with the structure to measure energy use and carbon emissions."Surprisingly, we found that transport and logistics seemed to be areas of relatively low carbon emissions for us," he said. "However, we were impressed by the potential revealed to cut down on our carbon footprint, including investigating better monitoring, heat recovery and renewable energy systems that would make major savings in electricity in our factory."The Carbon Trust said there had been a significant growth in interest from consumers in the carbon impact of the products they bought. Its label gives customers confidence that they are buying products from companies committed to limiting climate change. The carbon footprint of a product or service is the total carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted during its life, from production to final disposal. Prince Charles, the president of the Castle of Mey Trust, launched the North Highland Initiative in 2005 to promote economic development in the area. Mey Selections is the brand name of North Highlands Products, a company formed by Caithness farmers to source quality farm and food products.