Our Green Message

For seventy years, Sacla’ have been making food with care, flair and love. We’ve a real respect for tradition, honouring the wisdom of age-old techniques in growing and preserving vegetables, following the rhythm of the seasons wherever we possibly can.

We’ve spent decades developing and nurturing intense and supportive relationships with our farmers and growers, investing together in quality and sustainability. Together, we work to get rid of the use of pesticides and other nasties, preferring instead to encourage a more organic approach to farming.

We celebrate and champion real food by using generations’ worth of expertise and resource to make sure that future generations will continue to share in Mother Nature’s endless bounty.

Find out more below:

Some Essentials
Less Jargon, More Solutions
Making a difference
Making sense of it all

Some Essentials

Sacla’ are making efforts to manage environmental risks and liabilities responsibly. We’ve made our aims transparent, we’ve set realistic targets and we’re measuring our success with our Environmental Management System (EMS). We’re also starting to shout about it and market our progress internally and externally; half the battle is getting the word out and bringing people on board.

We believe very strongly that green is good for business. As a part of our everyday work we want to be a positive force for good, one that brings real benefits. To that end, we keep our customers and their needs in mind at all times whilst staying focused on what is achievable.

Less Jargon, More Solutions

When it comes to climate change, we believe there’s more jargon around expressing the problem than there are solutions. So we’re taking five simple and practical steps to do something about it:

We’re reducing the amount of carbon dioxide we produce.
We’re reducing the quantity of waste we produce.
We’re reducing the packaging we use.
We’re reducing the number of miles we travel.
We’re reducing our use of water wherever we can.

Making a difference

WE’RE REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF CARBON DIOXIDE WE PRODUCE BY:

Lowering our manufacturing energy consumption through technical improvements, like thermal recovery systems, heat dispersion reduction and heat recapture. Reducing our energy consumption through simple energy saving initiatives, like switching off lights, computers and air conditioning.

Truth: replacing 5 standard light bulbs saves 1 tonne
of CO2 per year.

Using renewable sources of energy, like fitting solar panels at our main site and Head Office in Asti. This is helping us save 350 tonnes of CO2 per year. Fighting deforestation - because trees are the lungs of the world. They soak up CO2 and create oxygen.

Truth: we are losing an area of rainforest the size of six football pitches per minute.

WE’RE REDUCING THE QUANTITY OF WASTE WE PRODUCE BY:

Embracing the 3 R’s Reduce - increasing efficient production processes means that in 2009 we are planning to use 5% less raw material than in 2008. Reuse - from paper to plates in our offices and barrels to crates in our factories. Recycle - all our waste is separated into more than twenty different categories for recycling.

Truth: if eleven people using one plastic cup a day used a china mug or glass instead, we could save 1 tonne of CO2 every year. We could save 210 tonnes of CO2 per year if the UK’s 10 million office workers replace 1 metal staple with a paper clip.

WE’RE REDUCING THE PACKAGING WE USE BY:

Going bare! We’ve stripped off as much packaging as we dare, including getting rid of our outer sleeves, reducing the size of our labels and trays. We have reduced the weight of our lids and the thickness of our wrapping materials. And everything that’s left is fully recyclable.

Truth: every recycled tonne of glass can save 135 litres of oil, and 1.2 tonnes of ash, sand and limestone. Print a 100 page document double, not single, sided and we can save 50g of CO2.

WE’RE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF MILES WE TRAVEL BY:

Using Italian ingredients from Italian suppliers wherever possible. That way they travel fewer miles from field to fork and plough to plate with less CO2 emissions. And, naturally, we prefer to buy in season. Using railroad to transport our products all over the world, wherever possible. We are working closely with like-minded logistics partners to keep carbon emissions low (like using low emission vehicles to carry full loads). Restricting air travel to the bare minimum. After all, isn’t a 10 minute video conference better than queues, security checks and delays at airports? It’s a great way to save lots of time, plenty of money and huge amounts of environmental damage.

Truth: a restaurant meal generates 8kg CO2 emissions per diner per visit.

So, stay in and enjoy a Sacla’ pasta supper.

WE ARE REDUCING OUR USE OF WATER BY:

Improving how we wash our vegetables. Improving our in-line cleaning systems. In 2009 alone, we will save an amount of water equivalent to 12,000 bottles of water .... enough to satisfy the water consumption of a football team for the next 2 years.

Truth: boiling only enough water for one cup of tea and not the whole kettle can save enough electricity to run all the street lights in the UK. (Or, even more neighbourly, make tea for everyone!)

Making sense of it all

As we improve our own carbon footprint it’s important that we measure it. By measuring it, we’re more aware of the impact we’re making. And that knowledge gives us the power to do something about it. There’s an effective environmental management system in place, and at our manufacturing site and local office there’s a single individual who’s accountable and empowered to effect change - our very own “Environmental Friend”.

ISO 14001 - an international stamp of approval, is the accreditation scheme we’re working towards, and it will cover every aspect of how our company is run. It will be further proof that we have a good environmentally conscious management system.

Green is good for our business. And we’re working hard to tell the world about it. By doing our bit - and more - we’re hoping to encourage others to do theirs. And more.