Three pillars of sustainability
We've broken our planet-boosting projects down into three key plans, which work together to create to a more sustainable world:
- Riverford Climate Plan: Projects which support the reduction of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in our operations as quickly as possible. We've committed to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
- Riverford Biodiversity Plan: Projects which support biodiversity on our land and beyond. The UK's biodiversity is in decline, and in recent years the single biggest cause has been the intensification of agriculture. Farming accounts for 72% of land, so is key to reversing the problem.
- Riverford ‘Farming for the Future' Plan: Projects which help to create and support better ways of farming and producing food. We're working with our suppliers to set the blueprint for how the UK should farm in the future, for the future.
Current projects
We're already working on a number of projects to reduce our environmental impact and help build a more sustainable world, on our own farms and beyond. Find out more below.Planting fruit trees with Ripple Effect - Climate action
For many years, we've worked with a charity called Ripple Effect, who train African farmers in sustainable, organic methods. They're the perfect partners for our tree-planting project. Working with other expert and local organisations, we've planted over 44,000 apple and avocado trees in 28 villages across southern Ethiopia.
These trees will not only sequester thousands of tonnes of CO2, but will provide important food security in an area with high rates of malnutrition, as well as providing a potential source of income and boosting local skills in agriculture. The project will make a massive difference for years to come.
Agroforestry pilot project - Farming for the future
Working with some of our farmer friends, we’ve planted hundreds of trees as part of our agroforestry pilot project. So far, we’ve planted over 1600 chestnut, walnut, and hazelnut trees across four organic farms in Devon.
The pilot is part of a two-year project to see how we can increase the number of trees on farms through agroforestry (that's planting trees around or among crops or livestock). The trees enhance the farm environment, sequester carbon - and will also, we hope, lead to a future supply of organic, locally grown nuts.
Soil carbon monitoring - Farming for the future
We're monitoring the levels of carbon in the soil on Riverford's farmland, starting with Wash Farm, our Devon home. We'll examine how our management of fields over the past five years has affected carbon levels, and use this info to get advice on how we can take care of our soil to sequester more carbon (preventing it from being released into the atmosphere). In five years' time, we will remeasure the soil carbon, to see if we have improved.
Low emissions co-owner commuting - Climate action
We're surveying Riverford co-owners' commuting habits to estimate the emissions created by commuting, and find out their preferences for transport modes. Using this info, we plan to invest in low emissions commuting solutions.
Electric vans - Climate action
We're swapping our diesel delivery vans for electric, with the goal of 100% electric vans by 2025 for low-emission deliveries to your door.
Low emissions HGVs - Climate action
We've set a course to reduce the emissions from our HGV fleet. First, we've switched diesel fuel for ‘hydrotreated vegetable oil', or HVO. This new fuel is saving us over 1500 tCO2e (tonnes of CO2 equivalent) per year.
Although this is a big improvement, it's just a steppingstone to the ultimate goal of electrifying our HGV fleet - watch this space.
Renewable energy infrastructure - Climate action
We're carrying out a renewable energy feasibility study, to find out how we can maximise the amount of green energy that Riverford produces. Once the results are in, we'll start planning where we can increase our renewable energy generation, including more solar panels.
Agricultural emissions monitoring - Climate action
This year, we'll be assessing our scope 3 agricultural emissions. There are three defined scopes when measuring carbon emissions; scope 1 is direct emissions, scope 2 is indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, and scope 3 is all other indirect emissions in a supply chain, from packaging and materials to water use and more.
We know that emissions from agriculture in our supply chain will dwarf our current scope, which only looks at our own operations. However, this is essential to understanding the full scope of Riverford's emissions, with the broader aim of tackling ‘carbon hotspots' in our supply chain and reducing them as much as we can.
Biodiversity surveys and action plan - Biodiversity
We're surveying for biodiversity (the variety of wild plant and animal life) on our own farms in Devon and Peterborough, and then following ecologists' advice on what we can to do improve. So far our action plan includes:
- Creating riparian buffers (green areas surrounding and shading water sources).
- Creating green lanes (safe paths of greenery through cultivated land, allowing wildlife to travel and spread).
- Encouraging pollinator insects with pollinator-friendly seed plantings.
- Planting seed mixes that will feed birds.
- Enhancing the habitat for cirl buntings (a rare bird that we've found at Wash Farm, Devon).
- Extending our existing woodland.
- An idea for an agroforestry trial, combining woodland with grazing animals.
Beehives on the farm - Biodiversity
We're hoping to introduce a small apiary of honeybees in key locations around Wash farm, Devon. This will boost the potential pollination of crops, wildflowers and hedgerows around the farm - as well as giving our co-owners the opportunity to learn about beekeeping!
We'll start by introducing six hives in the first year, with the potential to add more hives to other areas year on year.
