Growing Together.
Charity and Sustainability
At Nationwide Produce, our commitment extends beyond growing exceptional produce, we feel it’s our duty to give back to local communities to help them grow too. It’s deep-rooted in our overall philosophy: we aim to foster growth within society by contributing in meaningful ways.
Through various initiatives, both personal and community-focused, Nationwide Produce actively engages in projects both locally and further afield. Emphasising our dedication to social responsibility, all employees are encouraged to participate in charitable endeavours. We pledge to match funds raised by individual employees, up to a maximum of £400 a year, for donations to registered charities or approved voluntary organisations. This initiative serves to incentivise and empower our staff to support charitable causes, furthering our collective impact on communities in need.
Fareshare
We are proud to announce that our charity of the year for 2025 is FareShare.
Our partnership has seen the equivalent of over 18 million meals delivered to more than 4,000 frontline charities across the UK through the Covid crisis. FareShare partnered with us to manage the logistics of a £16m DEFRA funded project, through which FareShare procured non-perishable food such as tins, pasta and rice, for distribution to the organisation’s 10,500 charity members through the Covid crisis.
1 Million Meal Milestone Reached
We’re thrilled to have achieved a remarkable milestone in our collaboration with FareShare, diverting over 473 tonnes of surplus produce to support charities and community groups across the UK. This significant contribution equates to an impressive 1 million meals provided through FareShare’s network.
As we celebrate this significant milestone, we remain committed to our partnership with FareShare and continue to advocate for collaborative efforts to combatting the environmental impact of food waste across the UK.
Tim O’Malley – Trustee of FareShare
Tim O’Malley, Chairman at Nationwide Produce, has been appointed as a trustee of FareShare and has taken on the role of Chair of the Food Committee, a pivotal step that not only signifies his personal commitment but also deepens our longstanding partnership with this remarkable charity.
Tim’s wealth of experience and profound understanding of the fresh produce industry position him as a valuable addition to FareShare’s board. Reflecting on this new role, Tim expressed, “Joining FareShare’s board is an honour. It’s a voluntary commitment, but the impact FareShare makes in addressing food poverty is profound. Being part of their initiatives like ‘the Coronation Project’ is a significant opportunity to contribute positively to our society.”
“Our passion for good causes is something that’s been in the Nationwide Produce family for decades. It’s a commitment to people, to communities, to projects, and to growth, to help people expand and to do more than they could ever have thought possible with the right kind of help and support.”
Phil Johnson, Group Director.
Sustainability Statement
As a business we’re focused on reducing our carbon emissions and food waste. With sustainability being a core focus, we have put together key improvement areas to help us to achieve our vision:
Waste Management
At Nationwide Produce, we are passionate about reducing waste and minimising landfill contributions. To achieve this, we are streamlining our waste management processes by partnering with local food charities and utilising Anaerobic Digestion.
Since January 2020, we have been diverting surplus food to our partner, Fareshare, which delivers healthy, nutritious food to food banks, community groups, activity schemes, and schools, supporting the UK’s most vulnerable children. This partnership has significantly reduced our food waste and helped deliver 18 million meals to people in need.
For food waste that cannot be sent to local food banks and charities, we work with An Digestion, the UK’s first ‘food only’ Anaerobic Digestion plant. Located in Bishops Cleeve, just 13 miles from our Nationwide Evesham Depot, this biogas plant processes industrial and domestic food waste to create renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser.
By employing these waste management methods, we not only save on landfill costs but also advance our goals of becoming a greener business by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Reduced Carbon Emissions
As a global importer and UK and EU exporter, transport is a huge part of our business. This is something we are conscious about and are actively working on to reduce our carbon emissions. We have introduced a new fleet of trucks to reduce our CO2 footprint and fuel consumption, with the latest FH500 Step E Engine and fitted with I-See technology.
Renewable Energy Promise
We’re proud to be certified renewable, with 100% of the power needed to run our UK depots and offices being produced from renewable energy sources.
At our Spalding office, we have a 15 kW solar panel system that provides 21% of our electricity, with the remaining 79% sourced from the grid. Our main production facility in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, generates around a third of its electricity consumption from a 100 kW solar panel system installed on its roof. Additionally, our two Evesham depots boast a combined total of 500 kW solar panel systems across both roofs.
Project Super Green
One of the green initiatives we’re most proud of is “Project Super Green.” In 2022, this project saw the commissioning of Europe’s largest installation of a new sustainable cooling system at Nationwide Produce’s Evesham depot. The new refrigeration system uses a greener refrigerant, R454A, which offers an 83% reduction in Global Warming Potential compared to the industry standard R449A. Additionally, it will increase energy efficiency by approximately 15%.
See our Carbon Reduction Plan
See our Energy Certificate
