Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, won the prestigious Guardian Sustainable Business Award for ‘Waste Innovation’ for its ‘100 per cent Green’ sustainability initiative. The family-run company was recognised for its holistic and pioneering approach to sustainability and the tangible differences that it has made through its ‘100 per cent Green’ long-term energy project.

Wyke Farms’ on-site biogas plant is at core of this project. It converts 75,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste from its farm per year, into energy, which is used to power the cheese dairy. This saves Wyke Farms over five million kilos of carbon dioxide per annum and makes Wyke Farms the UK’s first national cheddar brand to be 100 per cent self-sufficient in green electrical energy and one of the very few independent family-owned food brands which is proactively committed to sustainability. The biogas plant is just one part of Wyke Farms’ comprehensive sustainability strategy that permeates throughout the business. Other initiatives include solar panelling, reduced packaging, factory wastewater re-usage and electric delivery.

“We are extremely proud to have won this award and to be recognised for our commitment to sustainability” said Rich Clothier, managing director and 3rd generation family member at Wyke Farms “At Wyke Farms we aim to operate our business in a way that has minimal impact on the Somerset environment and to create a truly symbiotic relationship with the countryside that provides our food and income. I believe that 100 per cent Green is an ongoing journey and I remain committed to staying up to date to ensure that Wyke keeps challenging its business to stay at the forefront of sustainable working practice.”

Wyke Farms has been producing its award-winning cheddar for over a century and has grown to become the largest family-owned cheese maker in Britain selling over 14,000 tonnes annually.

Wyke Farms have 150 years of family farming experience. Wyke Farms’ cheese and butter is made with the milk from their cows grazing the lush pastures of the Mendip Hills in the centre of the Cheddar making region in Somerset.