Asda has revealed the winner of its Supplier Sustainability Exchange, which saw the Big 4 grocer’s suppliers competing to win a £10,000 funding for a project that will decrease the impact on nature or have a regenerative impact.
Yorkshire vodka distillery, Ellers Farm, claimed the prize for its nature regeneration plans to plant 2.3 hectares of mixed woodland and heritage apple orchard, as well as 0.5 hectares of wet grassland and wildflower meadow surrounding the distillery.
“We’re passionate about having a positive impact on nature and are grateful that our vision resonates,” Ellers Farm Distillery head of sustainability Tabatha Hurst said.
“The support given to us by Asda’s nurture and sustainability teams has had a big impact on our business and we look forward to continuing to support Asda’s wider sustainability efforts into the future.”
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The project which will now be carried out with Asda’s funding between October 2022 and March 2023, will decrease the supply chain transportation emissions and deliver a supply of British apples to produce the brand’s Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka.
Asda sustainability coordinator Emma Gibson added: “We loved this project’s simplicity and commitment to the distillery’s surrounding area, whilst being able to see a project that showed clear stages of implementation and delivery.”
“We are very much looking forward to seeing Ellers Farm’s plans unfold over the next year and seeing the prize money being used on such an important area of sustainability.’’
The competition, introduced in celebration of 10 years of the Asda Supplier Sustainability Exchange to help suppliers work together in reducing their environmental impact, now boasts over 2,000 members focusing on sustainable sourcing, plastics, packaging and carbon.
The news comes as Asda donates £50,000 to Bowel Cancer UK and joins the #GetOnARoll campaign by adding bowel cancer symptoms to its toilet roll packaging.
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