East Lothian-based The Premium Bakery has boosted its sustainability credentials and reduced its energy bills after securing a loan to install solar panels at its factory.
The family-run firm was granted a £73,000 Green Loan from Royal Bank of Scotland, which it used to fit solar panels on its Prestonpans production facility. Now up and running, a portion of its operations are powered by solar.
Founded in 2007, the wholesale bakery is led by Peter Ford along with his son and daughter-in-law, Graeme Ford, and Mona Hashem. The team has since grown to nearly 40 staff members and holds contracts with some of Scotland’s largest retailers such as The Co-Operative, Scotmid and Spar.
It produces a variety of baked goods at its site including morning rolls, baps and buns, baguettes, scones, cottage loaves, cakes, and savouries such as Scotch pies and sausage rolls.
Throughout its growth, sustainability has remained a primary focus, the business said, and the internal offices are now partially heated by excess power generated by the bakery ovens while the factory benefits from low emission LED lighting.
“We’d been looking into moving to solar power for a long time and eventually took the plunge earlier this year,” explained Mona Hashem, director at The Premium Bakery. “It’s been an absolute game changer for us – not only is our environmental impact drastically reduced, we’ve also been able to cut our outgoings by generating our own energy on site.
“Our industry was massively impacted by recent price hikes purely due to the volume of energy needed to power and run a bakery. Installing solar panels has reduced the impact of this and helped give us peace of mind, meaning we can focus on continuing to grow the business,” Hashem added.
Gus Johnstone, relationship director at Royal Bank of Scotland, said that the team at The Premium Bakery are “an inspiration when it comes to running a business in a sustainable way”.
“The Premium Bakery has carved out a legacy within the East Lothian business community over the years – a testament to Peter, Graeme, and Mona’s focus and determination,” he added.
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