Home News Premier Foods invests in low carbon fertiliser trial in support of more sustainable agriculture

Premier Foods invests in low carbon fertiliser trial in support of more sustainable agriculture

Latest Annual Report demonstrates significant progress on Enriching Life Plan
June 3, 2025

Premier Foods, one of the UK’s largest food manufacturers, has unveiled an investment in developing low carbon wheat as part of its on-going sustainability efforts.

The firm, home to iconic brands such as Mr Kipling, Batchelors and McDougalls, is partnering with wheat supplier Bartholomews to back an agriculture trial on 165 acres of arable land in southern England.

The trial is particularly focused on the use of low carbon fertiliser, which is created using renewable energy. It’s designed to provide a more controlled release of nutrients and is coupled with precision application technology so less fertiliser is needed overall, dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of the products grown.

The two farmers involved in the trial are also being funded to adopt more sustainable farming practices which help protect the health of the soil.

Gareth Pullan, Director of Procurement at Premier Foods, says: “As well as selling flour under our McDougalls and Be-Ro brands, we use flour in around half of all the products we make, so helping British farmers transition to lower carbon wheat is an essential part of our ambitions to reduce the environmental impact of our business.

“This trial is only the beginning. Our longer-term intention is to take the learnings from this trial to understand how we can support the wider adoption of lower carbon farming across more of the farms growing wheat and other crops across our supply chain. We’re also committed to contributing to the efforts of the wider food industry as we all progress towards Net Zero and working collaboratively with our supplier partners will be a crucial part in this journey”

Sue Taylor, Lead Director at Bartholomews, said: “At Bartholomews, we believe the path to lower carbon food begins with joined-up thinking from field to table. We’re delighted to be collaborating with Premier Foods, allowing us to bridge the gap between agronomy, soil health and practical on-farm practices— using real data and innovational inputs to cut emissions where it matters most. Working directly with farmers and food brands is key to scaling sustainable change.”

Farmer Andrew Burchmore, based in Wiltshire, said:

“Farmers depend on the land for their livelihoods so looking after it is vital. A trial like this, where we are supported with new technology, extra funding and expert advice, is essential to help us transition to lower carbon farming, and it’s great to be working with Premier Foods on this summer’s crop.”

News of the trial is shared in the Premier Foods Annual Report for the year to 29 March 2025, published today, which also reports on progress against the Group’s wider sustainability strategy.

The business set major sustainability targets under its Enriching Life Plan in November 2021 and has updated on the strong progress made in the last financial year under all three pillars. A few of the highlights include:

  • PRODUCT
    • Sales of the company’s branded products which meet high nutritional standards are up 9%.
    • We have launched 85 products in the year which are high in fibre – increasing the proportion of products which meet high nutritional standards and have additional health or nutrition benefits.
    • New recipes have been introduced for popular products such as the FUEL10K Granola range to make them non-HFSS (not High in Fat, Salt or Sugar) while retaining the flavour and quality consumers expect.
  • PLANET
    • Energy usage has reduced, helping with a year-on-year reduction of 10% in scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, down 30% since our baseline year of 2020/21.
    • We have set new targets for our management of water, including to improve water efficiency within our operations by 5% by 2030 against a 2024/25 baseline, and agreed to work with the Westcountry Rivers Trust on a project near our Devon creamery.
    • The business continues to make improvement on key metrics such as the CDP Climate, Water and Forests benchmarks; our overall CDP Climate Score improved to a B.
  • PEOPLE
    • The equivalent of 1.1 million meals were donated to those in food insecurity in a single year, largely thanks to a wide-ranging partnership with FareShare to redistribute surplus food and support their wider operations.
    • Colleagues volunteered a total of 783 days in the communities where the business is based.
    • The Social Recruitment Advocacy Group recognised the openness of the recruitment and early years provision with a Gold Charter Mark.

Commenting on the overall progress of the business against its Enriching Life Plan, ESG Director Nick Brown said:

“As one of the UK’s leading food producers we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to forge a healthier future for our planet and everyone on it. The three pillars of our Enriching Life Plan show how we’re determined to make a difference across all aspects of our business, from what we source and how we source it, to the products we make and the communities we operate in.

“It’s a testament to the commitment of colleagues across the whole business that we’ve been able to demonstrate progress across so many areas in the past financial year, with lots of work already in train to go even further in future.”