World’s First Food Product Certified as Carbon and Plastic Neutral

Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil has made history by becoming the world’s first food product to be certified as both carbon and plastic neutral. The entire Farrington’s Mellow Yellow range of oils, salad dressings and mayonnaises are accredited.

Farrington Oils, producer of Farrington’s Mellow Yellow, have become a global leader in sustainability through this certification. After 25 years of sustainable farming from Duncan Farrington as a LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Marque farmer, carbon and plastic neutrality is an incredible step in their trail-blazing approach to sustainability.

Rather than making a net zero pledge for 10 or 20 years in the future, Farrington Oils M.D, Duncan Farrington, wanted to achieve this ground-breaking milestone now, “This is not just a box ticking exercise for us, the environment is at the heart of everything we do, we have always looked for ways to be more sustainable so it made sense to take the official steps to become certified carbon & plastic neutral straight away. We will continue to improve and aim to be carbon negative – removing more carbon from the atmosphere than is produced – through sustainable farming practices where our soils are locking in CO₂, planting even more trees and creating more inviting wildlife habitats.”

As part of their innovative LEAF farming strategy, delivering nature and climate-friendly farming, Farrington Oils have been nurturing healthy soils, reducing waste and recording energy usage for over 25 years, so becoming net zero was the logical next step. Since 1987, they have planted over 8,000 trees on their farm, including a community-led tree planting event supported by The Woodland Trust in February 2020 and installed solar panels in 2018 that now generate over half of their total energy requirements. The environment has always been at the heart of the business and this announcement marks an ambitious step towards real change for the food industry globally.

Through their partnership with One Carbon World, a global partner of the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative, Farrington Oils have not only become signatories of the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative pledge, but have also achieved the Carbon Neutral Gold Standard. This signifies the fact that Farrington Oils are now offsetting all their carbon emissions. “Farrington Oils’ commitment to carbon neutrality marks a significant step towards a global change” says Andrew Bowen, CEO of One Carbon World. “As the first farm to take this step, Farrington Oils have made a ground-breaking commitment that will inspire other companies around the world to take action and become carbon neutral in 2020.”

Partnering with rePurpose Global, Farrington Oils now fund the removal of the same amount of plastic waste from the environment as they use in their packaging. By becoming plastic neutral, Farrington Oils is enabling the removal and recycling of plastic waste that would otherwise be landfilled or flushed into our oceans. “We are thrilled that Farrington Oils’ mission to protect our planet clicked with our work on the ground” says Peter Wang Hjemdahl, co-founder of rePurpose Global. “We are entering into the last decade before climate change becomes irreversible, and big businesses need to step up. We challenge every food and beverage brand to follow Farrington’s lead and take action before it is too late.”

On top of their official carbon figures, Farrington Oils are actually already absorbing even more carbon. Through long-term soil health analysis, Duncan Farrington has tracked the carbon sequestered in his soil. In one particular field, Duncan has increased soil organic matter by a staggering 66% over the last 16 years. This means that Farrington Oils are absorbing 3,780 tonnes of CO2 into their soils each year, this is the equivalent to offsetting flying one person around the globe 526 times (in economy class). Duncan has been asked to work with a project for the EU which aims to get sustainable farming and the carbon stored in our soils recognised as accredited carbon credits, “The future of our planet has never been more important, so we need sustainable farming to be recognised as a valuable way to store carbon in our soils.”

Far from slowing down on their sustainable mission, this is just the start for Farrington’s Mellow Yellow as they become the obvious choice for the conscientious consumer. They hope to remove a further 30% of the plastic used on their products and through Duncan’s work with research groups, becoming carbon negative is finally on the horizon. Furthermore, Duncan Farrington is calling for all companies, large and small, to change their habits to make a meaningful difference for our planet. “If a small company of 15 people in the sleepy Northamptonshire village of Hargrave can become a global leader in sustainability, I truly believe everyone can make a difference. By working together to change our habits, we can do this!”