‘We hae meat’ & Sustainablity
As farmers as well as butchers, we are passionate about the environment and are proud to be one of the most sustainable meat manufacturers in the UK.
Our working farm is located just 500 yards from our meat processing site, nestled in the beautiful Girvan Valley countryside.
Managing and reducing our carbon footprint is at the very heart of our business. We started our sustainability journey with an independently verified Carbon Assessment and Reduction Plan in 2015 and managed to reduce our emissions by 87% within a year. We are now working towards an updated plan that will reduce our emissions by 107% - making us carbon neutral!
Our purpose built BRC AA grade facility based at the family farm (Cairnhill Farm)
Our carbon management actions include:
Installing our own renewable power plant. Our specialised units burn wood from our own and other local farms, providing us with electricity and 100% of our hot water and heating requirements.
Chopping all of our waste carboard to produce straw to bed our cattle when they are housed in barns in the winter.
Relaunching all of our products into packaging trays that are fully recyclable.
Implementing returnable and reusable packaging solutions with our suppliers.
Introducing regenerative farming techniques such as wild flower borders on our farm land.
Replacing our diesel van fleet with electric hybrids. We hae meat is one of the most sustainable meat manufacturers in the UK.
What’s Next ?
Social Welfare: We have 5 km of public footpaths on our farms and in 2022 we aim to complete a further 10 km of disabled-friendly circular foot paths that will start and finish in our local village of Dailly.
We are also in the process of sowing more wildflower seeds to help encourage wildlife, birds and bees to thrive on our farms. Thirty thousand bees have already been introduced and we aim to take this up to 250,000 bees in 2022.
Solar Panels: Solar panels will be installed to make our electricity supply self-sufficient.
Research: We are currently undertaking research projects using our renewables plant to understand the opportunities around controlled farming. For example, investigating whether we can grow specific crops on our land previously considered impossible.
What does it all mean ?
Produce – We rear our own cattle on our family farm in Girvan, Ayrshire. All of our products use only the best possible ingredients.
Process - We manufacture our great quality sausages, burgers and ready-to-cook meal solutions from our meat plant under 1 mile from our farm. We have reduced our carbon emissions on site by 97% since 2016 and will be carbon negative in 2022.
Distribute – We use an electric hybrid van for all local deliveries to reduce our emissions.
Access – All of our meat products available to buy in supermarkets are found in fully recyclable packaging
Consume – ‘We hae meat’ is one of the most sustainable meat producers in the UK. Our Skinny range offers customers a reduced fat, great quality meat product produced from our sustainable manufacturing site.
Recover – We try to recycle as much of our waste on site as possible. We chop down our food grade cardboard to use as cattle bedding on our farm. We also have returnable packaging agreements in place with our suppliers.
