Mackie’s of Scotland has long been working towards becoming a net zero business, with its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint stretching back well before the term net zero became a generally recognised term. As early adopters, Mackie’s has already made serious inroads on its sustainability journey, notably generating more than twice the energy it uses through wind and solar.
Mackie’s trail blazing approach to renewable energy saw installation of its first wind turbine in 2005. The original turbine is now kept company by three further turbines, over 7000 solar panels and a biomass plant. Producing more than double the energy it uses allows Mackie’s to sell the remaining amounts back to the national grad.
With funding support from the Scottish Government, Mackie’s is nearing completion on the installation of a £4.5m low carbon refrigeration system which uses biomass heat and ammonia, a natural refrigerant, as energy sources for the system. The system is the first of its kind for Scotland and it is anticipated that it will cut overall energy use and CO2 emissions associated with refrigeration by up to 80%.
Another step taken by Mackie’s towards reducing its carbon emissions was the decision to manufacture its own packaging, reducing transport miles. By making its ice cream pots on site, as opposed to importing them, the emissions from 50,000 miles of transport per year from their former supplier have been saved.
To help further reduce emissions from the family farm, where the business is based, the slurry from the cows is pumped up to a slurry lagoon on top of the hill and mixed with the wastewater and used as natural fertiliser which is spread on the fields via four miles of pipework on the farm. This reduces the amount of commercial fertiliser products that have to be bought, saving on the fossil fuels associated with their manufacture.
For Mackie’s, reducing its carbon footprint and minimising their environmental impact is core to the philosophy of the business. Speaking on the topic, Mac Mackie, managing director has said: “Reaching net zero is crucial for the survival life as we know it. We must now all find ways in which we can help to reduce the GHG which are contributing to worsening climate change. Investing in ways to look after the land and business for future generations is at the heart of our family business...and there can often be a win-win effect whereby commercial successes are coupled with the most environmentally friendly decisions.”