We’ve set a goal to become a net zero business by 2050.
Climate change is one of the biggest risks and challenges of our generation. The potential impact on our environment of a warming planet is a threat which affects everyone: our business and our communities, our ingredients and the products we bake.
We’re continually enhancing our capabilities by investing in new plants, machinery, vehicles, technologies and infrastructure. As both a large bakery manufacturer and fleet operator, it is really important that we act responsibly and ensure we work hard to reduce our carbon impact and our overall energy and fuel consumption.
Over the past decade, we’ve already cut CO₂ emissions in our own operations by 20%, but there’s more to do.
Energy Efficiency
We are always striving to drive energy efficiency across our business by buying better, using less, and self-generating more. We ensure that all the electricity we buy comes from renewable sources, and is certified by a Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO).
Internally, our energy efficiency programmes have identified opportunities such as increased oven insulation, gas burners that shut down automatically when there are gaps in production, and the re-use of plant waste heat to heat our hot water systems.
We’ve also installed metering across all sites to track energy use by asset. At our Tuscany Park bakery, optimised prover controls cut gas use for heating by 40%, while ventilation upgrades at Tuscany and Enfield bakeries have improved temperature control and energy efficiency.
As a result, we have already reduced our CO2 emissions by 20% over the last 10 years.
Generating our Own Energy
A key element of our carbon reduction strategy is a commitment to generate our own energy. We’ve made significant investments in both solar and wind power, and continue to generate energy through Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, which has enabled us to reduce our bakeries electricity emissions by 56.2%.
Solar and Wind Power
In 2024, we generated more than 800,000 kWH of electricity from our solar panels at our Bristol and Enfield bakeries, and via our wind turbines in Bristol. We continue to identify opportunities to increase on-site energy generation across our sites.
Combined Heat and Power
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants are systems that produce both electricity and heat. They increase energy efficiency by capturing the heat that would otherwise be wasted and use it for heating or hot water production. CHPs can save 30- 40% of energy when compared to separate heat and power generation, resulting in energy and cost savings while reducing environmental impact
Following a £2 million investment in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant at our Bellshill bakery, the 1MWH engine was successfully installed and operational from January 2024. This adds to engines already installed at Wednesbury, Bristol and Bolton. A further 1.5MWH engine will be installed at Enfield in 2025.
Electric Vehicles
With more than 1,100 lorries on our roads delivering fresh products to the nation every day, we know we have a job to do to transition to a more sustainable fleet.
We are proud to have begun our journey to a zero-emission fleet, with 7 electric trucks already on the road, including the roll-out of 4 16 tonne 100% electric trucks earlier this year. With a goal to have 40+ electric vehicles on the road by 2027, there is plenty more to come in the pipeline!
Alternative Fuels
We have started to change our trunking fleet over to bio-CNG (compressed natural gas) which is a clean sustainable alternative to diesel. Our intention is to move our entire trunking fleet to bio-CNG over the next five years to achieve an 85% reduction in their CO2 emissions.
Our diesel mileage has reduced by 1.1 million miles thanks to investments in alternative fuels and electric vehicles.
We will be continuing this journey throughout 2025, adding more compressed natural gas and electric vehicles to our fleet. Investing in a fleet that is less reliant on emission-intensive fuels like petrol and diesel not only keeps Warburtons at the forefront of innovation within the transport and distribution sector, but it’s also the right thing to do for both the communities we operate in and our planet.
Efficient Distribution
Through our FleetBoard telematics system, we have reduced our diesel by 11% and our carbon emissions by 4,500 tonnes of CO2e across our 800-strong direct to store distribution fleet. We use routing and scheduling software to optimise our delivery routes, which has reduced both the distance travelled and fuel used.
We plan our distribution network each day based on product availability and delivery deadlines, to ensure that we utilise as much vehicle capacity as possible.
Approximately 50% of our inter-company distribution fleet are double deck trailers, to ensure maximum load fill.
All our vehicles are specified with cruise control, engine idle cut off and exhaust brakes to minimise environmental impact.
Company Cars
Elsewhere, we are phasing out diesel cars from our company car fleet. Our policy now requires all vehicles to be either hybrid or electric, with 97% of company cars meeting this standard.