Carbon Reduction Plan achieves success

La Crème Patisserie is a premium desserts manufacturer based in Cwmbran, south Wales. Founded in November 2005 by Sian and Ian Hindle, the company produces over fifty thousand pieces of cake a week, mainly for food service including hotel chains, venues, events, and stadiums across the UK. 

With a team of 36 employees, La Crème Patisserie takes pride in providing exceptional service, innovative desserts, and cakes that delight chefs and customers alike. The company has a diverse range of products, including afternoon tea, desserts, cake, patisserie, and vegan gluten-free options. 

La Crème Patisserie has always had sustainability at its core. The company sources cream from Ty Tanglwst Farm in Pyle and other local suppliers where possible. 

Speaking of why they were keen to get involved in the Carbon Reduction Pilot, Robert Hindle, Operations Director said, “We’ve always prided ourselves on having a strong sustainable ethos, but one of the main challenges we’ve faced is building a carbon tracker and being able to quantify our impacts, along with having access to relevant data.

“The Carbon Reduction Pilot Scheme has been crucial for us because it has provided a manageable and actionable way to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions within the business. For example, the scheme allowed us to study historic records and help identify areas of high emissions, along with developing a targeted plan to reduce them.”

The importance of carbon reduction was brought into sharper focus when one of La Crème Patisserie’s main clients introduced ambitious targets for reducing their carbon footprint, therefore adding increased pressure on them to be able to demonstrate tangible actions and results in the pursuit of becoming more sustainable.

Robert added, “The Carbon Reduction Pilot Scheme has given us the opportunity to formalise our processes and develop robust methods for accounting and comparing with other producers and manufacturers. So when a client asks us for evidence, we are able to show them how we’ve successfully managed to reduce our carbon emissions.

“Not only that, but we’re also seeing financial benefits as the scheme has already helped us to reduce our waste, consider better disposal options and save us money.”

La Crème Patisserie has also collaborated with the Welsh Government, along with other Welsh suppliers in a series of decarbonisation workshops and, to work on carbon information and energy efficiency. The scheme provided valuable insights into Carbon Inherited Data, UK, and global averages on carbon emissions.

Robert added, “A big challenge was managing carbon emissions on a granular level, especially for products like cream, sugar, and chocolate. The team helped quantify the mix and tackle this challenge.”

Robert highly recommends the scheme to other Welsh food and drink manufacturers, stating that “The scheme makes information more accessible and helps even small businesses like ours tackle the climate crisis. It provides a structed approach to understanding and reducing carbon emissions, which is essential for any business looking to become more sustainable.”

In their ongoing efforts to enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impact, the company has identified several key areas of focus, including waste management and carbon emission reduction.

Commenting on future plans, Robert said, "We have managed to draw a couple of key areas: managing and reducing our waste. I’ve recently been involved in a project with the ARCS team at Swansea University, which looks at circular economy solutions. They are taking some of the waste water from one of our processors and providing it to a laboratory to grow bacteria that will tackle microbicide carbon emissions. This Circular Economy opportunity has been great. We’ve already implemented it within the business and are now looking at external applications.

“Additionally, we are benchmarking our carbon emissions and identifying areas for improvement. A key method for our development is collaboration with other sectors to address shared challenges in our community. One example is the need to move to a fleet electric of delivery vehicles which meets all legal safety and standards requirements of our frozen products but still economical to run. Being part of wider sustainable projects is one of the exciting challenges in the next five years."

Improve your sustainability practices with our Carbon Reduction Plan Pilot. Get expert guidance and support by emailing SustainableFD@gov.wales with “Carbon Reduction Pilot” in the subject line.