Yeo Valley wins Queen’s Award for sustainable development
Yeo Valley, the UKs leading organic brand, has been honoured with a coveted Queens Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, for the third time.
Yeo Valley, the UKs leading organic brand, has been honoured with a coveted Queens Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, for the third time.
The Somerset-based organic dairy company, which previously won awards in 2001 and 2006, received the honour in recognition of its ongoing commitment to British organic farming, as well as a wide range of sustainable and environmental best practices which are core to its business practices. The award commends the breadth of Yeo Valleys approach: Demonstrating outstanding performance in every aspect of sustainability, the company has established best practice across its operations.
Yeo Valley, based in Blagdon, Somerset, has recently developed a carbon-neutral heating system for its head office using home-grown Miscanthus bio-fuel, sources electricity from renewable sources for all of its operational sites and has also made significant reductions in its carbon footprint. In the last year, the company has also introduced advanced recycled and recyclable packaging across its range of dairy products.
The panel of judges also commended the company on its support for independent farmers and the wider British farming community, saying: This family-owned, independent farming and dairy-processing business continues to set a benchmark for sustainability performance.
Commenting on the Award, Graham Keating, Yeo Valleys Communications Director said: Winning just one Queens Award was a huge honour, but to have been recognised for a third time is something we are immensely proud of. We have grown from a small producer into a significant player in the dairy market, but our increased size has not diminished our commitment to sustainable farming and we continue to promote the benefits of organic farming, invest in low carbon energy for our sites and devote our resources to educating children about the importance of protecting the British countryside.
Yeo Valley has grown to become one of the countrys most successful organic food companies and the most popular organic dairy brand. Today, it is the market leader in organic yogurts, has the biggest-selling organic butter range and is the brand leader in organic milk.
Tim Mead, Yeo Valleys Managing Director said: Sustainable farming and manufacturing is at the very heart of the Yeo Valley ethos. Ever since my parents bought the farm in Blagdon 50 years ago, our family has been committed to protecting the Somerset countryside and championing British organic farming. This philosophy continues to run through everything at Yeo Valley and our renewable energy project is the latest development to help reduce our impact on the environment. Winning our third Queens Award is a great way to celebrate our 50th year.
Yeo Valley Farms Production Ltd is an independent, family-owned farming and dairy-processing business based in Blagdon, North Somerset. Yeo Valley Organic is the largest organic brand in the UK, purchasing organic milk from a West Country based cooperative whose farmers take great care of their dairy herds and pride in the quality of the milk they produce.
Yeo Valleys own farming activities, which started with just 150 acres in 1961, now extend to over 1,250 acres of organic dairy, beef, lamb and arable feed-crops on the Mendip Hills.
The company produces its Yeo Valley Organic yogurts at its dairies in Blagdon and Cannington, bottles organic milk at its Crewkerne dairy and makes luxury desserts and ice cream in Newton Abbot, Devon. Yeo Valley also produces a range of conventional retailer branded products for most of the supermarkets in the UK. The company also has two logistics centres at Highbridge and Axbridge and its head office in, Yeo Valley now employs over 1,400 people.
