The Carbon Trust Standard is the world’s leading independent certification awarded to organisations that can demonstrate they are taking effective action to tackle their environmental impact, verifying reductions in carbon emissions, water use and waste output. It recognises good management and year-on-year improvements in sustainability performance.

The achievement is driven by ABP Food Group’s “Doing More with Less” sustainability strategy, which initiated a number of ambitious targets to be achieved by 2020 with a view to substantially reducing ABP Food Group’s environmental footprint.

John Newton, Associate Director at the Carbon Trust, added: “Britain and Ireland produce some of the world’s most sustainable meat. Within this market, ABP Food Group has once again demonstrated its leadership credentials through achieving significant ongoing reductions in its own environmental impact. We are delighted to recognise this by awarding recertification to the Carbon Trust Standard, thanks to the company’s achievements in once again cutting carbon emissions, water use and waste from its operations.”

In 2015, ABP opened the world’s most sustainable beef processing facilities at Ellesmere in Shropshire. The site generates all of its own heating and hot water needs and up to 100% of its electricity requirements from bio-fuel produced as a by-product of the beef processing operation.