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ARDO’S CARBON REDUCTION COMMITMENT BEARS FRUIT

ardo ukFrozen fruit and vegetable specialist Ardo UK has further boosted its green credentials after reducing its carbon footprint by five per cent.

The Charing-based company’s long-held commitment to help combat climate change through the adoption of environmentally-friendly technologies and techniques has seen its CO2 emissions drop to 2,024 tonnes during 2012 – a fall of 103 tonnes year-on-year.

Ardo’s latest eco-achievement means that its annual carbon footprint has been cut almost in half in the past five years.

The emissions milestone was included in Ardo’s annual corporate responsibility report, which outlines the company’s aims and charts its progress to date.

Other key successes include winning the Kent Excellence in Business Award for Business Commitment to the Environment and recording a 40 per cent reduction in the company’s accident rate and a 12 per cent fall in electricity usage.

Stuart Hiscott, Marketing Manager at Ardo UK, said: “We are proud of our achievements, which stem from our commitment to ensuring we use the most cost effective and environmentally-friendly energy and business practices available.

“Since we consolidated the company to a single site at the beginning of 2010, we have seen significant reductions in energy use, road mileage and fuel consumption. We have now reduced our CO2 emissions by 48 per cent since 2007.

“On a human level, we continue to place a strong emphasis on training. During the past year we supported or instigated 1,882 hours of training to our employees, an average of 15 hours per member of staff.”

The corporate responsibility report also examines the trading relationship between Ardo and its customers and suppliers. The company sources 16 per cent of its goods and services from Kent and 34 per cent in total from the UK.

Ardo also works with a number of regular suppliers from around the world, including growers in Peru, Guatemala and India, and has done for 20 years. Using the universally recognised SEDEX system (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) Ardo has achieved its goal of having more than 80 per cent of its suppliers registered on the ethical index.

Jonathan Martin, Procurement Director at Ardo UK, said: “Ardo strives to ensure our suppliers and customers are happy to trade with us. We like to think that we have developed such successful, long-term partnerships with our suppliers because we ensure that they are paid to terms, the terms are fair and that the workers are treated responsibly.

“Similarly, we think our long-running relationships with major customers in retail, wholesale, food service and ingredients are due to the high service levels we provide and the quality of our food and people.”

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