The environment is at the heart of everything we do. We have always farmed sustainably to ensure the countryside around us and the soils we grow our crops in are nurtured and thrive. Our sustainable rapeseed oil is grown to LEAF Marque standards on our family farm in Northamptonshire, as well as other local LEAF Marque farmers. 

We are so proud to now be certified as Carbon Neutral and Plastic Neutral. Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil is the world’s first food product to be certified as both carbon and plastic neutral and this ground-breaking step is just the latest in a long list of sustainable actions we have worked on over the years. 

By buying a bottle of Farrington’s Mellow Yellow, you are choosing a carbon neutral and plastic neutral product, making a conscientious choice to reduce your impact on the environment and support a sustainable business.

We are signatories of the United Nation Climate Neutral Now Initiative and have achieved the Carbon Neutral International Standard. Work out your own carbon footprint here.

Partnering with rePurpose Global, we now fund the removal of the same amount of plastic from the environment as we use in all of our packaging. Work out your own plastic footprint here.

We are a LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Marque producer, this means that we are at the forefront of environmentally aware agriculture.

Queen’s Award for Enterprise

In March 2021, we were honoured to receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development. We received this prestigious award for our industry leading approach to sustainability: from our commitment to carbon and plastic neutrality, to our LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Marque standards, to Duncan’s work monitoring and increasing the carbon stored in our soils. Read more here.

What is carbon neutral?

Carbon emissions are a huge problem so we decided to do our bit to tackle our own footprint. After reducing our carbon emissions through LEAF farming strategies, we offset our remaining carbon emissions by supporting reforestation initiatives and green energy schemes. This means that Farrington’s Mellow Yellow is not adding any emissions to our atmosphere.

Through our partnership with One Carbon World, a global partner of the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative, we have not only become signatories of the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative, but have also achieved the Carbon Neutral International Standard. This means that we have committed to carbon neutrality and have achieved it in full. Through our carbon offsets, we are funding reforestation projects and green energy schemes around the globe, which will help reduce the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

What is plastic neutral?

Waste plastic is a big issue. We’ve worked hard to reduce our plastic use, but some plastics serve a valuable purpose. By working with rePurpose to support the collection and recycling of plastic waste around the world, we are now certified as plastic neutral. This means that for every 1 kg of plastic in Farrington’s Mellow Yellow packaging, we fund the removal & recycling of 1 kg of plastic from the environment that would otherwise have been landfilled or flushed into our oceans. 

rePurpose was born out of a visit to Deonar, one of Asia’s largest landfills in Mumbai, India. There, Peter, Svanika, and Adi were met with an arresting view: to one side, towering mountains of plastic, and to the other, the city’s endless urban skyline. They realised something had to change and went on to found rePurpose, a global community of conscious consumers and businesses going PlasticNeutral by measuring, offsetting, and reducing their unique plastic footprint. By supporting rePurpose to remove and recycle the same amount of ocean-bound plastic that you put into the environment, you get to take genuine action against ocean plastic today by enabling local environmental entrepreneurs worldwide to better tackle plastic in their own communities.

If you would like to work out your own plastic footprint, have a look at rePurpose’s plastic calculator!

What is LEAF?

LEAF stands for Linking Environment and Farming and they are the leading organisation for sustainable farming. They work with farmers, food producers, scientists and consumers to inspire and enable sustainable farming that enriches the environment and engages local communities.

LEAF encourages sustainable and environmentally responsible farming through a system called Integrated Farm Management. In simple terms, this means they encourage farmers to look at each part of their farm individually and ensure each area is as environmentally aware as possible. Farmers look at soil management & fertility, crop health & protection, pollution control & by-product management, animal husbandry, energy efficiency, water management, landscape & nature conservation, community engagement and organisation & planning.

Why is soil so important in the fight against climate change?

Soil is amazing. 95% of our food comes from soil so it is incredibly important. Not simply dirt, soil is alive and absolutely bursting at the seams with organic matter. 1 gram of soil can be estimated to hold between 4,000 and 50,000 different species of micro-organisms. Soil is also a brilliantly effective carbon store. The world’s soils actually hold more than three times the amount of carbon than is in the atmosphere. The process of soil storing carbon is called carbon sequestration, for more information on this, we’ve got a simple blog post all about it! 

How do we keep carbon in our soil?

We don’t plough for one, this stops the soil being churned up which would release the stored carbon to the atmosphere. We use cover crops to keep the soil covered and add more organic matter to the soil. And we use a wide rotation of crops, so we swap between 5 different crops year on year, so if one crop uses up a lot of one nutrient, we will plant a crop that adds that nutrient back into the soil the following year, and so on. Keep the soil fertile and healthy. Healthy soil means more carbon is stored and the soil is more nutritious so we can grow healthier crops in it, like our healthy oil. Healthier food means we stay healthier too!

What’s next?

Far from slowing down on our sustainable mission, this is just the start for us! Through our LEAF farming methods, we will continue to improve our soils and store even more carbon in them.

“If a small company of only 15 people in a sleepy Northamptonshire village can become a global leader in sustainability, I truly believe everyone can make a difference. By working together to change our habits, we can do this.”