Potato supplier sets standard in sustainable food production

New Cambridge University study highlights Greenvale's strengths.

[UKPRwire, Thu Oct 09 2008] Greenvale AP, the leading supplier of British potatoes, has come top in sustainability of food production, according to the latest results of a two-year research project just published by the Cambridge University Institute for Manufacturing (IfM).

The Competitive and Sustainable Food Manufacturing (CSFM) Project assessed five different areas of the UK food industry – Strategy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Process Control, Lean Manufacturing and Sustainability.

Greenvale was one of twelve key UK food businesses selected, including companies in food production (growers), wholesalers, food processing and supermarkets, benchmarking each company against its sector and industry average.

And the results were remarkable, ranking Greenvale as by far the highest scoring company in the research programme. The researchers found its performance to be way above all sector and industry averages, always better than 'very good'.

The researchers singled out the company for praise particularly in 'lean manufacturing' (minimising waste), which in the past has been identified as one of the food industry's weakest areas. Greenvale 'excels' in lean manufacturing, says the Institute, not only in understanding the issues, but also implementing them 'tangibly', and adopting the techniques throughout the company.

The report also praised Greenvale for its intensive employee training programmes to achieve these results. Other 'excellent' practices by Greenvale included an extended recycling regime and good energy saving schemes, as well as packaging reduction programs and the elimination of waste.

Greenvale was considered 'excellent', compared to both the industry and sector averages. "Greenvale AP was the highest scoring organisation out of 12 companies interviewed," concluded the report.

Trevor Dear, Operations Director at Greenvale AP, said: "Obviously we are delighted with these results. In recent years we've worked very hard to lead by example in agriculture and food production. But to know we are also setting a standard for the rest of the food industry - wholesalers, food processing, supermarkets and the like - is especially gratifying."

For more information visit the Greenvale AP website at www.greenvale.co.uk.