Powering the Future: apetito Announces Major Investment in Solar Panel Technology

Leading care homes meals provider, apetito has announced another substantial investment into its sustainable business practices, spending £1.3m to dramatically increase the number of solar panels used across its main manufacturing site in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

And with society’s ever-growing reliance on fossil fuels being a significant contributor to climate change, this investment in use of renewable energy sources is more important than ever.

In addition to placing panels across roofs on site, the meals provider has devised an innovative solution to build a carport dedicated to housing more solar panels to maximise generation.

Through this installation, due to take place from September, just over 10% of all electricity used across the entire site will be generated by the panels, which will look to save an estimated 220 tonnes of CO2e for the business each year.

On the journey to achieving Net Zero by 2040, this project showcases apetito’s firm commitment to acting now and reaching its ambitious short-term carbon reduction targets along the way. With electricity representing almost 30% of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, this project is of high importance to ensure these short-term targets are met.

Lee Sheppard, Director or Corporate Affairs, Policy and Sustainability says:

“When we set our carbon commitment to Net Zero back in 2021, it was extremely important to us that we did not simply make a claim without a strong commitment to act now. Having a clear three stage carbon reduction plan in place ensures that we are being held accountable for our actions and making immediate change to reduce our carbon footprint.

“This significant investment in renewables highlights this commitment and our continued efforts to decarbonise the business in the right way. This project is an important milestone to reaching our ambitious short-term Scope 1 and 2 reduction targets by further increasing our self-generation of electricity, particularly across our Manufacturing operations.”

Find out more about apetito’s approach to Ethics and Sustainability at https://www.apetito.co.uk/about-us/ethics-sustainability