For the latest Tamar Water Stewardship Business Board (TWSBB) blog, we hear from Stuart Barber, Group Environmental Specialist with Premier Foods.
“Through our famous Ambrosia Creamery, adjacent to the River Lyd, we at Premier Foods are fully aware of how much we rely on the Tamar catchment for our business along with our responsibility to help protect it.
“We understand the potential impact our business operations and supply chains may have on the catchment, be it through abstraction or water quality.
“However, through our recently launched Enriching Life plan, we aim to further reduce our impacts on the environments local to our sites, including water.
“As the condition of the nation’s surface waters comes under closer scrutiny both within government and the media, we are committed to be as transparent about our water use as possible and continue to improve.
“We are also striving to reduce our impacts on the wider environment through tackling our greenhouse gas emissions, committing to a 42% reduction in our scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 2030.
“Our work with groups such as the TWSBB only reinforces our ambitions to become a more environmentally responsible business.
“We see the TWSBB as a vital component in driving sustainable water practices throughout the catchment and beyond. By pulling together a number of key stakeholders and the Westcountry River Trust, there is the passion and expertise to help deliver water-related improvements.
“I’m proud to see Premier Foods taking the chair of the TWSBB, helping to support and implement the fantastic work of the board – to do so is a real honour and I’m looking forward to the great work the group will deliver in the near future.
“The Southwest is an area exceptionally close to me as I spent three years at the University of Plymouth completing my Environmental Science degree.
“As part of this, we would spend hours upon hours on Dartmoor, visiting former tin mines or taking samples from the tributaries of the Tamar itself. It’s a truly unique part of the country and one that deserves the appropriate protections.
“If I manage to find any free time, you’ll likely find me either fishing or exploring the Norfolk Broads on my paddleboard, so I’m constantly reminded of the vital importance of protecting our surface waters not just for now but for the future.
“I would encourage any businesses, landowner, or organisation with a vested interest in the Tamar catchment and beyond to find out more about the TWSBB.”
To get involved or for further detail, please by email [email protected] in the first instance.
Photo: Stuart (left) is at the Ambrosia factory, next to the River Lyd, with the site’s HS&E manager, Clive Atton.