In this series, British Baker talks to people from across the baking industry to find out about their career path, what their job involves, and the latest trends that are shaping their work.
We’re looking to showcase a diverse range of talent and job types across the industry, so if you’d like to be involved, please email amy.north@wrbm.com
Name: Michael ‘Mick’ Phillips
Job title: Project manager & sustainability ambassador
Company: Montana Bakery
Tell us about your career to date
On completion of 22 years of military service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1997, I joined Michael Scott Cakes Limited in Midhurst, West Sussex as their hygiene and training manager. In December 2000 I accepted an offer to be the engineering manager at The French Croissant Company (FCC) Limited in Park Royal, London and had the enviable job of taking over a new purpose-built bakery from the project engineer. At FCC I added another ‘string to my bow’ and completed the IEMA Environmental Management Diploma.
I have been lucky to have worked with several very successful food businesses such as Heinz, Signature Flatbreads, McCain’s, and since 2018 with Montana Bakery. The icing on my career cake was to be part of the senior leadership team at Montana when it won Bakery Manufacturer of the Year at the Baking Industry Awards 2024. It is a true reflection of our ‘Montana Family’ and we are all extremely proud to have been recognised by our industry.
Explain your job in a few sentences
Protecting people, product, profit, and planet – project managing a range of operational improvement and sustainability projects. I’m focussed on developing people to be the best that they can be and raising their awareness of environmental and sustainability issues so that they can make good choices and get it right first time.
I feel fortunate that the culmination of my skills, knowledge, and experience has led to me working as a sustainability ambassador, where I can implement changes and improvements, and influence others to think and be sustainable; not only from an environmental perspective but ensuring that our business will still be here for future generations. I also represent Montana on the sustainability team of parent company Martin Braun Gruppe.
What does a typical workday involve for you?
Almost every day at Montana is exciting, rewarding, and with different challenges. It is a fast-paced bakery, that prides itself on being discerningly different with the need to be amazingly adaptable.
My typical day would be checking in with my team, and viewing emails and reports to ascertain if there are any problems or concerns that may need my intervention. Then onto project management and design, controlling contractors, managing existing projects and being part of the scoping and design team for future improvements.
“I like to develop people to do it themselves”
There are moments when I can draw breath, and I use these moments to enter energy and production data into the sustainability spreadsheets and generate reports. I will then complete any internal audits that I have been assigned to do and update the site’s Continuous Improvement Action Plan. I will check in with the MD and if all is OK, it’s time to go home.
What’s your favourite part of your job?
Solving problems, developing people, and seeing projects through to the end. Including sustainability as an element of the Change Management Process has reaped rewards, with others now thinking about sustainability issues during the scoping phase of projects.
We have just completed a Double Materiality Assessment on our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and are eagerly waiting the Carbon Footprint Report. This will enable us to focus on our high Scope 3 emissions, and partner with our suppliers to further decarbonisation of our supply chain. I also work very closely with our head of people, Lucia Pohrebnyak, and our technical team’s supplier contracts manager, Albena Stoeva, to identify and reduce ethical risks in our supply chain, ensuring it is free from modern slavery, is fair, and is rewarding for all.
What is a common misconception about your role?
It’s ‘Mick does that’, whereas in reality I like to develop people to do it themselves.
What have been the greatest challenges that you have overcome in recent years?
I would say the greatest challenge was implementing controls, processes, and procedures to enable Montana Bakery to remain open throughout the covid years. We did not stop, not even for one day. We protected our staff, essential contractors and enforcement visitors, continued to ‘Feed The Nation’ by supplying our customers, and diversifying the business. It was challenging but exceedingly rewarding.
What advice can you give to other bakery manufacturers looking to improve the sustainability of their operations?
It’s time for action! Stop talking about ‘sustainability data’ and implement sustainability projects. If you are bewildered and not sure what to do, there are many sustainability platforms available with good free advice on the internet from reputable organisations.
A good start is to identify your biggest energy users and see what can be done to reduce their energy consumption and improve their efficiencies. At Montana we just got on with it, picking the ‘low hanging fruit’ from our Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) reports such as relamping to LED lighting, purchasing 100% renewable energy, and installing a solar array.
We developed an engineering policy to always use energy efficient motors and drives and included sustainability in our new starts and contractor inductions. We are currently intent on installing an Energy Sub-Metering System to further enhance energy management, measuring, monitoring, machine failure prediction, and carbon reporting. We are also eagerly waiting to explore the use of the Mondra Platform and its NPD Lower Carbon Products tool.
I cannot remember who said this first, but it is entirely relevant today – ‘We do not inherit the planet from our parents, we borrow it from our children’, and we need to hand it back in a better condition.
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