Rice brand Tilda has called for honesty, transparency and pre-competitive spirit to tackle the climate crisis as it launches its first ever Impact Report.
As it seeks to be one of the most responsible rice producers in the world, the Tilda Impact Report 2021 reinforces that promise by mapping out the brand’s operations, impacts and solutions for change.
Tilda’s commitments are based around three focus areas: sourcing, manufacturing and packaging, with support for communities at the heart of its approach. The report outlines progress in each of these areas and sets out new commitments to drive improvement and transparency:
- Responsible sourcing: Tilda works with over 7,000 farmers in India who are involved in its Farm Extension Programme to ensure fair livelihoods and protect the environment through good agricultural practices. Fifty farmers are taking part in Tilda’s feasibility study to explore how methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve water in rice farming can be scaled up across the sector. This is key to raising standards and guaranteeing that rice is produced in a way that safeguards people and the planet. In recognition of its commitment to responsible sourcing, Tilda recently scored 100% for ethical performance and transparency in its supply chain.
- State-of-the-art manufacturing: With the electricity used to make its products coming from 100% renewable sources since 2020 and an 18% reduction in its carbon footprint since 2017, Tilda is committed to reaching Net Zero emissions in its manufacturing by 2040 through innovation and investment.
- Circular packaging: Tilda continues to evolve its packaging to reduce its impact by light-weighting, introducing recycle-ready packaging and facilitating recycling of its current packaging in the market. Committing to 100% recyclable packaging by 2025, Tilda is supporting the UK’s Flexible Plastic Fund to enable all its current packaging to be recycled at collection points being rolled out by leading UK supermarkets in 2021. The brand will have a fully recyclable plastic pouch in market this year, ready for when kerbside recycling begins.
- Making a positive impact on communities: With its commitment to tackling hunger and food poverty, Tilda has donated over £1m since 2013 to deliver life-saving nutrition in Bangladesh in partnership with the World Food Programme. It increased its assistance to UK communities during the pandemic through its long-term collaboration with The Felix Project. Tilda is also supporting vocational training for students in hospitality and inspiring the next generation of talented chefs.
Jon Calland, Head of Sustainability & External Affairs at Tilda, commented: “As the climate crisis worsens, it is the responsibility of industry to act, and influence change. This is about more than responding to consumers’ sustainability concerns and customer objectives, it is ultimately about creating a responsible and resilient business.
“By launching the Tilda Impact Report 2021 and being honest and transparent about our challenges, I hope that we can encourage more businesses to consider their impacts on the planet and people, whilst supporting our trade customers to play their part.”
