our Environment
Caring enough to do the right thing...
When Eliza Jane started making clotted cream in her kitchen over 130 years ago, little did she know that her family recipe would someday become a much-loved Cornish delicacy. And whilst we love to talk about our delicious products, there are also some amazing things happening behind the scenes at our Creamery that not many people know about. We are always challenging ourselves to ‘do better’ in everything we do. Here’s just some of things we’ve been working on…
Keeping our eye on Carbon
Carbon emissions is always front of mind for us – we are far from perfect, but we are pleased to say we’ve already made some positive steps to improve what we are doing.
In the last two years alone, we have worked hard to remove 2.5 tonnes of plastic out of our business (and we are still working on removing more!). We’ve also put a big focus on food waste, and in the last 3 years, we’ve reduced this by 75%. We know there’s lots more work to do but we’re committed to sharing our progress with you as we go.
The local’s milk
30 miles form our Creamery
Supporting local farmers is key to everything that we do. It’s an important part of our family values that we enjoy lasting relationships with our local farmers and their families. They go the extra mile in caring for their livestock, to help create the richest and creamiest milk.
All our milk is sourced within a 30-mile radius of the creamery, as well as all our farms being Red Tractor certified. Our farmers work to our Rodda’s bespoke farm assurance, which goes above and beyond industry requirements.
Our Packaging
Whilst we know some people feel passionately about not using plastic, unfortunately, at the moment, the plastic we use is currently the most suitable material that can withstand the heat of our ovens, whilst also ensuring every pot of your cream is kept fresh and safe.
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes with our suppliers and engaging with experts in their field to see what materials are right for us and the environment.
All the pots that carry our Cornish clotted cream are widely recyclable. We’ve also made sure that all our cardboard sleeves are sourced from sustainable forests and are completely recyclable.
We know there is more we can do and that’s why we are always busy trialing new packaging formats as they evolve… so watch this space! We are on a journey and we want you to be part of that with us.
Positive Energy
Our team is dedicated to reducing energy consumption. That’s why we have developed our own ‘Rodda’s Environmental Policy’.
We are always looking at how we can use natural resources more efficiently and where we get our energy from. All the electricity we use on site comes from renewable sources and we have our own solar panels on the roof to help when the sun shines. We also reuse as much of our water as we can to help with cleaning around our site.
From small changes, such as implementing LED lighting and motion sensors in all our buildings, to larger projects such as upgrading our refrigeration systems, we are all working very hard to ensure we are taking positive steps to reduce the amount of energy we all use on a daily basis.
Supporting Good Causes
Here at Rodda’s, community spirit and charity are very important to us. From afternoon teas, to charity cake sales- all sorts of fantastic fundraising initiatives are taking place across the UK every year. We want to help support as many organisations as we can to bring these events to life. That’s why our Charity Committee was created to help support events and requests for charitable organisations.
Rodda’s also work in partnership with Wilkin and Son, Tiptree, to run The Cream Tea Society. Each year both organisations donate up to 50,000 portions of Cornish clotted cream and jam, to help charity event organisers on their way. All you need to provide is the place, the people, the plates and of course plenty of scones.
Rodda's Milk refill stations
We are excited to be working with several South West businesses to bring a fantastic new initiative, that is both environmentally friendly and supporting our Cornish farms.
Our Milk Refill Stations are helping local businesses to realise a reduction in the use of plastic milk bottles, whilst allowing customers to enjoy our deliciously creamy ‘local’s milk’.
Almost 36 million plastic bottles are used every day in the UK yet less than 20 million are recycled with the remainder going to landfill. Working with these businesses Rodda’s hopes that its’ refill machine is a small step to reducing unnecessary plastic waste.
Looking after our staff
Whilst many companies say it, we really mean it when we say, ‘Our people are the most important part of our business.’ It’s the dedication of our staff that is the real magic ingredient of our business. That’s why it’s important for us to ensure we have a healthy and happy workplace for our team. We offer free fruit for our staff to snack on in our canteen, as well our Rodda’s milk scheme, which allows our staff to take home our creamy Cornish milk, up to three times a week. We’ve even been awarded Gold in the Healthy Workplace Awards by Cornwall Council for which we are very proud.
