Producing fully carbon neutral eggs in the Borders
FOLLOWING the news that UK’s largest organic egg brand has become certified Carbon Neutral, the MacLean family discuss with The SF, the reasons why it is producing producing Purely Organic eggs for Noble Foods and operating profitably, sustainably and at scale.
THE fastest-growing brand in Noble Foods’ portfolio – Purely Organic – is the first organic egg brand in the UK to be certified Carbon Neutral under the widelyrecognised auspices of the Carbon Trust.
The brand is available nationwide in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Co-op and its position as the UK’s No 1 organic egg brand has been fortified by retail sales growth of 30% in the last year alone.
Achieving the new carbon neutral status was in response to a changing consumer approach to the quality of products they buy and the decisions which influence those choices, said Noble Foods.
The Carbon Trust’s director of business services, Tom Cumberlege, told us: “Purely Organic had made an important first step in their net zero journey, by committing to reduce its carbon emissions through improvements in the whole supply chain. In time, we hope to work with them on further reductions, ensuring a truly sustainable future for the brand.”
The certification strengthens the brand’s sustainability credentials, aligning it with growing consumer-demand for environmentally friendly products alongside a drive from producers themselves to operate more sustainably.
It’s a strategy fuelled by passionate producers like Angela and James MacLean – one of 13 Purely Organic farmers across the UK – who are taking these positive steps for their local environment and seeing the benefits firsthand.
At their farm in the Scottish Borders, the couple set to work establishing MacLean Eggs six years ago supplying eggs to Noble Foods. “We like setting ourselves a challenge,” Angela said. Together with their son, Fraser, the MacLeans have not only made the farm their own but have been passionate about supporting the local environment and reducing their energy use along the way.
“That’s been the drive behind everything, not just our growth but our passion to give it our all every day. It’s people telling us we couldn’t do it and a real passion to do what we do in the most respectful way – for our colleagues and our hens – that’s kept us going strong,” James pointed out.
Their 600-acre farm is home to 30,000 organic Lohmann Brown hens across a variety of sheds and was one of the first multi-tier systems in the country.
“My granny had 12 Lohmann hens – they’re wonderful birds and they respond so well to the variety of enrichment we’ve given them,” said Angela.
Visitors – and there are many – can see from the MacLeans’ purpose-built viewing gallery, which was installed in 2019, that it’s clear to see their birds relish their environment.
“It’s bad luck that we opened our viewing gallery just before the very first Covid-19 lockdown! But we were very pleased to welcome a local school group not long ago – who had a great close-up look at how organic eggs are produced.
“The students were fascinated. But more so, they left with a good sense of how their eggs at home are actually produced. It was really rewarding to see them learn about what we do,” James said.
They have been conscious of their environmental impact from day one. “It’s the only way to be. When we first set out, our drive was simply to prove we could do it. But now, we’re trying to run a smart and efficient business,” he added.
“Working at a larger scale than other organic producers has its challenges and limitations. But I hope we’re living proof that you can operate profitably and sustainably at scale, without compromising quality and extremely high welfare.” pointed out Angela.
Along with planting thousands of trees on site and landscaping to help increase the biodiversity count, their focus is on making better use of energy use on site.
James said: “For me, supporting the environment is crucial and we are proud to have been able to do this on our farm. So, in tandem with our wild-growing areas and plenty of natural tree cover and meadows for our hens, we’re also thinking carefully about the way we draw in, store, and repurpose energy.
“Like any producer, we’d like to operate as best we can without wasting electricity and therefore, impacting our spend and carbon footprint.”
Across the site, their efforts are visible and working well. Almost all the sheds have solar panels and some of the mechanical systems in place are running at a lower voltage than usual.
“All of the machines running in the sheds are German-made which means they run at 220V. We use a voltage optimiser to help drop the incoming power down from 240V, which makes a marked difference on our overall usage,” said James.
We also installed a power factor correction capacitor which captures the spare electricity in capacitors and allows it to be reused in the shed. It’s quite simple, but it’s hugely effective.”
With the solar panels in full operation, everything used on site can run on green energy – with some surplus going back to the grid. In addition, the solar panels also charge the farm’s pallet trucks to further reduce the amount of energy being drawn from the grid.
The variety of trees on the site is also important to the MacLeans, with species of oak, silver birch and maple, plus a number of fruit trees were also supplied by Noble Foods, which added variety to the landscape.
Noble Foods’ environmental manager, Glenn Evans, explained why the Purely Organic brand sought carbon neutral accreditation: “It’s our responsibility at Noble Foods to take a market-leading step forward in carbon reduction, to ensure a more sustainable future for customers and producers alike.”
“Purely Organic was the natural choice as the first product to be certified carbon neutral, because it already has strong environmental credentials, brand loyalists and fantastic producers such as Angela and James.
“Being organic already had many benefits for the environment – being free of pesticides and artificial fertilisers and the use of organic raw materials for poultry feed – and the addition of carbon neutrality to Purely Organic increased our appeal to our trade customers and consumers, while contributing to the wider environmental strategy for Noble Foods.”
The local community had been hugely important to both Angela and James through the adversity of Covid-19 lockdowns after the family set up shop – quite literally – with the opening of ‘Fraser’s Farm Shop’ which included self-serve, chilled vending machines with essential food items.