Currently, Waitrose is the only UK supermarket to have its own farm; some 4,000 acres of property, farming, retail and leisure activities. It’s also the first UK retailer to use cow power to drive the tractors at its farm – or at least, harness the methane they create to do so.
The fully circular system takes the one thing beef and dairy farmers have more than enough of – manure – and turns it into renewable biomethane fuel, which can then be used to run specially-designed tractors which put out a fraction of the emissions of their petrol-powered equivalent.
The groundbreaking move of using its 500-strong herd of cows to help power the farming estate is an innovative step from Waitrose; one which remains firmly in line with with its commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its own operations by 2035.
Click here to read more about Sustainability Beat’s time on the farm.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
