The aim of the projct is to reduce the GHG (Co2) emissions and water footprint of potato production for Walkers crisps by 50% in 5 years, strating in 2010. The project is part of a wider project focussing is on key crops sourced from the UK: potatoes, oats and apples which make Walkers Crisps, Quaker Oats and Copella Apple Juice.
This ambitious goal will be achieved through a combination of partnership, investment and technology, including:
- Applying new technologies, such as our i-crop™ and Cool Farm tools to better measure water impacts and carbon emissions and to help farmers manage their use of water, fertiliser and other inputs more effectively.
- Investing in research to optimise energy efficient storage practices and to identify the most environmentally sensitive ways to grow and irrigate crops. This includes using wind turbines, anaerobic digesters and solar panels to create on-site renewable energy at our farms, trialling new low carbon fertilisers and capturing rainwater to be re-used for irrigation.
- And replacing 75% of our current potato stock (Saturna, Hermes and Lady Rosetta) with better quality varieties by 2015, aiming to improve yield and decrease waste. We have invested millions of pounds in research over 20 years to find out which varieties of potato provide the best quality and is most sustainable – requiring the least amount of irrigation, highly resistant to diseases, easily stored over longer periods, and crucially, requiring less inputs to produce the same crop yields. Combined, this would mean a high quality potato that requires less water to grow and emits less carbon whilst doing so.