A Leicestershire-based cake making business, that has provided cakes for The Royal Family, is reducing its emissions and energy usage with the installation of 4,500 sq ft of solar panels, supported by funding from Lloyds Bank.
Fiona Cairns is a luxury bakery brand that designs and makes cakes for all occasions. A favourite of The Royal Family’s, the team made the Royal wedding cake for their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales. They supply cakes and biscuits to high-end retailers including Waitrose, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, and Selfridges. The company also exports on a weekly basis to Dunnes Stores in the Republic of Ireland.
The family business was founded almost 40 years ago by Fiona Cairns, a former pastry chef who honed her skills in Michelin starred Hambleton Hall, Rutland, and her husband in 1986. Now, the company has more than 120 staff and is a second-generation family business.
The company is now focussing on introducing sustainable initiatives that will help the firm remain resilient, become more cost effective, all while having a minimal impact on the planet.
To support the firm to meet its green ambitions, it approached Lloyds Bank, securing funding via the Clean Growth Financing Initiative, which provides customers with access to discounted lending for green purposes. With this support, solar panels have been fitted to one of the business’s three production units, covering 4,500 sq ft.
The panels will supply almost a third of the building’s energy, equating to around 10% of the business’s total energy usage, and reduce CO2 emissions by 15 tonnes per year. The business is also looking at opportunities to increase this figure by using the electricity generated during the factory’s non-operational weekend hours to charge its fleet of three electric forklift trucks.
The business recently became RSPO certified for demonstrating that its palm oil comes from sustainable sources. Its food waste is used to help generate electricity, and as of April 2023, the cakemaker will aim to send zero waste to landfill. Most of the firm’s packaging is currently produced locally by Leicestershire suppliers, and the company is looking at strategies to reduce the quantity used, including shrinking the size of the plastic windows in its cake boxes.
Further plans are also in the pipeline to install solar panels across all three production units on site, with the hope that renewable energy will be the dominant energy source in the future.
Tara Patel, director at Fiona Cairns, said: “Sustainability is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time, and as the next generation of leadership, it’s important to look at all areas of the business to see where we can reduce our impact on the environment. The installation of our solar panels forms just one part of our sustainability journey, and when combined, these changes are helping us to bring down the emissions of our business.
“Retailers are increasingly scrutinising the emissions of their suppliers. As a partner to some of the UK’s most prominent retailers, it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re operating as sustainably as possible, helping them to achieve their net zero ambitions, as well as our own.”
Noshad Khowaja, relationship director, SME banking at Lloyds Bank, said: “Fiona Cairns is a fantastic brand which has built an excellent reputation with its customers. From royalty to the supermarket shelf, it’s great to see a local firm like this not only succeed in the world of business but also realise the benefits and opportunities that come with sustainable changes.
“The food and drink sector accounts for over a quarter of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. At Lloyds Bank we’re committed to helping businesses such as Fiona Cairns to reduce their environmental impact and supporting sectors to work towards a low carbon economy.”
