News on Energy and Environment from United Kingdom

Waitrose and Partners is set to be the first major retailer to sign up to The UK Robust Potato Pledge, which will see the group move away from the use of copper-based fungicides on organic fresh potatoes in order to combat late blight Phytophthora.

The home of the much-loved Pembrokeshire potato has added a new iconic product to supermarket shelves with the launch of the UK's first carbon-neutral potato.

There’s no escaping plant-based milk in the 21st century. In the United Kingdom, nearly a quarter of British people now consume plant-based milk. Entering into this market is a new plant-based milk, claiming to be the most sustainable dairy alternative yet: potato milk.

As part of today’s release of McCain’s 2020 Global Sustainability report Together, Towards Planet-Friendly Food, the company is pledging that it will be implementing regenerative agricultural practices across 100 per cent of its potato acreage by 2030.

Puffin Produce, a potato supplier in the United Kingdom, has reduced its water use to wash and polish its potatoes by 90% and electricity use by 40% as a result of a major equipment update provided by Haith.

British carbon capture and utilization company CCm Technologies has been awarded funding from Innovate UK to develop new modular Carbon Capture and Sequestration units.

One of the UK’s largest potato crisp manufacturers, Tyrrells, has taken its latest step in a continued sustainability drive by converting its energy supply to liquefied natural gas (LNG) which will reduce its carbon emissions by over 14% per year.

Work has started on a new GBP 6m facility, which will be used to extract high-grade plant protein from potatoes, at Branston's site in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Branston is working alongside B-hive Innovations as part of a collaborative project to improve potato crop utilization.

Planting a Green Headland on uncropped areas around potato and field vegetable crops can capture nutrients worth £200/ha over the growing season.

A move to cut down on food waste by selling unwashed potatoes – and in doing so potentially double their shelf-life - is being launched by Tesco.

In one year, a Scottish potato company removed almost 27 tons of plastic from its packaging.

Pepsico UK has joined forces with British clean-tech firm CCm Technologies to reduce their carbon footprint by turning their potato waste into fertiliser.

After much discussion and planning by the CUPGRA Executive Committee, it has been decided, owing to COVID-19 restrictions, to go ahead with a virtual conference to continue the unbroken run of 30 successful CUPGRA Cambridge Potato Conferences.

Preparations for NewCold's second UK deep freeze storage facility are fully on course, says the company and following the build commencement next month, the operation is expected to go live just one year later.

Nitrous oxide emissions (300 times more powerful than CO₂) are jeopardizing Earth's future climate. Agriculture caused almost 70% of global N₂O emissions in the decade to 2016.

Essex potato grower, Fairfields Farm, is excited to announce that it will be supplying HelloFresh with its low carbon footprint potatoes from October.

Fast food giant McDonald's is working with McCain Foods and Prince's Countryside Trust to help farmers in the United Kingdom improve soil health and boost resilience to climate change and Brexit

This autumn has been the wettest across England since 2000 and the fifth wettest on record. These conditions have hampered lifting across GB, with progress particularly slow in Yorkshire and the North of England.