Sustainability

Sustainably Sourced Ingredients 

We know that the quality of our shortbread can only ever be as good as the ingredients we put in. With this in mind, we focus on sustainably sourcing our ingredients and buying from reputable suppliers across the UK and beyond. 

Butter

The butter in our shortbread comes from independently audited Irish farms that follow recognised standards for environmental and farming practices. On these farms, cows spend over 240 days on average grazing outdoors, which supports a lower-impact, grass-based farming system. This reduces the environmental impact of the milk used to make our butter. Additionally, Ireland's dairy farming benefits from naturally high rainfall levels, meaning livestock farming relies largely on natural water sources.

Sugar

The sugar beet used for our sugar is sourced from UK farms, which are an average of only 28 miles from the bakery. Sugar beet has the lowest nitrogen usage of any major arable crop in the UK, and plays an important role in crop rotation, supporting soil health as a 'break crop' from more intensely farmed cereal crops. Beet tops are returned to the soil to build up soil carbon and organic matter reserves. In addition to this, the factories processing the sugar beet use 100% renewable energy.

Chocolate

All of the chocolate used in our products is covered by the Cocoa Horizons scheme. This scheme works to protect cocoa farmers' livelihoods and the environment. In their latest report, they have demonstrated that 95% of their cocoa no longer contributes to deforestation, and they continue to work hard to bring that number up to 100%.

Tea

We buy fairtrade tea from a supplier that is a member of the ETP (Ethical Tea Partnership). The Ethical Tea Partnership is a global, not-for-profit organisation that works with governments, tea farmers and NGOs to improve conditions for tea-growing communities and support more sustainable tea production.

Palm Oil

Since the very first recipes for our shortbread were developed, palm oil has played an important role in giving the biscuits their light, crisp texture. Currently, all our oil is RSPO certified and segregated throughout the supply chain, ensuring it is sustainably produced.

While we have worked hard to source highly certified oil, a lot has changed since those first recipes were created. We are now far more aware of the environmental impacts of palm oil production. In line with our commitment to baking a more sustainable future, we are redeveloping our recipes to remove vegetable oils.

To date, we have successfully reformulated some of our products to an all-butter recipe. We are dedicated to this transition, and we are currently on track to remove all vegetable oils from our shortbread recipes by the end of 2027.

 Recipe Highlight

Our new Chocolate and Mint Shortbread biscuits are made using an all-butter recipe.

Alongside the butter, flour, sugar and chocolate detailed above, these deliciously fresh shortbread biscuits are made using Black Mitcham Peppermint Oil from peppermint grown on a family-run farm in the English countryside.

Powering the Bakery

In the same way we carefully source our ingredients, we have put practical measures in place to ensure our bakery operates as efficiently as possible.

Electricity:

All the electricity used in our bakery comes from 100% renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the ovens we use to bake our shortbread fingers are electric, meaning our shortbread fingers are made using 100% renewable energy.

Heating:

We use heat recovery from the ovens to warm the warehouse, and our office is heated using an air source heat pump. This allows us to further reduce our carbon footprint by reducing our emissions and our reliance on fossil fuels for heating.

Cooling:

During the warmer summer months, we use a passive vent and filter system, which filters and circulates outside air around the bakery, eliminating the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.

Reducing Waste

Nearly all our broken or damaged biscuits are put into bags and either sent to customers to use as tasting samples or donated to local food banks, meaning we produce very little food waste.

Packaging with Purpose

We carefully consider every layer of our packaging to ensure that we deliver the best possible product in a sustainable and responsible way.

Tins:

Our metal tins keep our biscuits fresh and serve as a reusable keepsake. They also play an important role in reducing our packaging waste. Metal is one of the few packaging materials that can be recycled endlessly, with no loss of integrity. 75% of all metal produced is still in use today.

Plastic:

The amount of plastic packaging on our shortbread fingers has been reduced by roughly 75%. This was achieved through removing plastic trays from the boxes, which in turn reduced the amount of plastic film needed to wrap the biscuits. While this results in smaller-looking packs on shelf, we prioritise reducing unnecessary packaging and ensuring our boxes are packed with biscuits rather than excess material.

We have also removed plastic trays from a lot of our round biscuits, replacing them with recyclable cardboard alternatives. Where plastic trays continue to be used, we ensure these are made with a high percentage of recycled content and are 100% recyclable.

We continue to use plastic film to wrap our products, as it remains the most effective way to keep our biscuits fresh in the absence of any preservatives.

Boxes:

All of the packaging for our boxes is sourced from suppliers in the UK. Most of our cardboard boxes are printed and made just outside of Edinburgh - less than 20 miles from the bakery!

For online orders, we reuse cardboard boxes where possible to further reduce packaging waste in the bakery.

We understand that sustainability is an ongoing process. We continue to learn and are committed to implementing more conscientious changes that help reduce our environmental impact and support a more sustainable future - one biscuit at a time.