OUR SUSTAINABILITY MISSION In 2020, Essential Cuisine and Solina put sustainability at the core of it’s business model, building a team to ensure that sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
We have eliminated black plastic from our entire branded range. In doing so, we are diverting waste from landfill as black plastic is often hard to recycle. Our poly propylene plastic pots, lids and clear PET jars are 100% recyclable.
Our tasting cups, cutlery, plates, and carrier bags used at shows and demonstrations are all eco-friendly options, eliminating single use plastic. In 2020, we launched our Premium Instant and Premium Frozen ranges in FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved cardboard boxes.
Together with Love British Food, we strive to promote, local in-season ingredients in our recipe inspiration and applications, with over 550 different ideas available on the website. Our chefs consistently work to develop recipes that minimise food waste. Our products are designed to minimise food waste through long shelf-life, easy-to-use applications and versatility.
We are working on ways and solutions to reduce our single use plastic further by looking for alternatives to items such as box tape and bubble wrap, and more. We reconfigured and maximised the palletisation of our products to reduce the number of pallets we send out, reducing our transportation emissions.
We are reducing our printed materials, converting flyers and brochures to digital formats, reducing our use of paper. Our Signature Range cartons are now FSC approved. We regularly volunteer and contribute to local and national charities.
The majority of our products meet 2024 salt responsibility targets. We invest in the chefs of tomorrow. Since September 2021, we have uploaded over 13 hours of video demonstrations to our online Skills Series portal alone. Our team also host regular kitchen takeovers in colleges across the country, support the Adopt a School Programme and sponsor South West Young Chef.
Our internal comms team works to bring each department together by organising social occasions, community work and charitable events. We have trained, internal mental health first aiders accessible to all employees.
We have a strong focus on health and safety, and have assigned a council to help monitor risks and accidents, and to look at ways to prevent accidents in the workplace. We are proud of our 400 day no LTA's. April 2021 - June 2022. As part of the Planet P commitment, Solina has partnered with Treedom to plant 200 trees in Madagascar, one of Solina’s sourcing countries.
Our blue scoops are made using 100% recycled plastic. The electricity supplied to our office and factory is sourced entirely from green energy. Essential Cuisine is a certified zero waste to landfill site.