Corporate Social Responsibility
Our Environmental Pledges
It’s not just the logo that is green. At GA, we are committed to earth-friendly manufacturing and minimal environmental impact, which is why we have set ourselves these 10 environmental pledges.
1. FUTURE GENERATIONS
GA will seek to meet the needs of the present by minimising our impact on our environment, so as not to compromise the ability of future generations.
2. NOT TO POLLUTE
We will minimise, and strive to eliminate the release of any pollutant that may cause harm to our land, water, air or the health of our neighbours.
3. SUSTAINABLE USE OF RESOURCES
We will make sustainable use of all renewable natural resources, being the water that falls on our site, organic waste produced within our on-site processes, the soils of our farms and the natural raw materials we use in our products.
We will conserve and reduce non-renewable natural resources through efficient use and careful planning. GA will continue to conserve and improve its local ecology. We will protect our wildlife habitats and preserve the biodiversity of our lands.
4. DISPOSAL OF WASTE
We will minimise the creation of waste, and wherever possible, we will reduce, reuse, recycle and recover all possible materials and seek to prevent any going to landfill.
5. EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY
We will make every effort and invest to use environmentally safe and sustainable energy sources as we move to a carbon-free energy future.
We will reduce, recover and reuse all possible available energy, in order to maximise the energy efficiency and energy conservation of our operations.
6. HEALTH OF OUR COLLEAGUES AND OUR COMMUNITIES
We will minimise the environmental health and safety risks to all our colleagues and the local communities in which we operate in order to minimise any disturbance due to noise, odour, dust or light.
7. SAFETY OF OUR PRODUCTS
We will ensure that all the products we sell are safe to the owners, and their pets, who consume our food.
8. PERFORMANCE AND AUDIT
We will conduct and make public an annual self-evaluation of our progress in implementing these pledges, by reporting our environmental performance in terms of energy usage, water and waste recovery and ensuring compliance with the planning permissions, and environmental permits that govern our sites.
9. COMMUNICATION
All at GA will work collectively across all departments and with our Partner Brands to ensure in a step by step way that our Pledges are achieved. We will set targets that we can work at together. We will inform our Partner Brands and our colleagues of our progress and how we can continue to work towards a sustainable future.
10. PERFECTION
Perfection is not possible, but definable progress is. Together, GA and its Partner Brands can make a difference and can seek to ensure we have a sustainable future for many generations to come.
BIBAs Green Business Award Winner 2019
The BIBAS are “Be Inspired Business Awards Lancashire”. They are the largest and longest-running business awards programme in Lancashire.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that GA Pet Food Partners won the BIBAS awards 2019 for the Green Business of the Year. This was because of the important wastewater treatment, odour abatement, recycling, energy efficiency and ecological work that the team and all colleagues at GA contribute to having minimal impact on our environment. This was achieved by our colleagues putting waste in correct bins, the running of the Wastewater Treatment Works, and GA’s commitments to future water recycling, energy generation, zero waste to landfill by 2025, and zero carbon emissions by 2050.
David Colgan
Environmental and Energy Manager
20,000 trees and shrubs planted
We planted 20,000 trees and shrubs across our site from 2016 to 2020 alone. We’ve also improved the riverbank areas surrounding the site and created wetland areas to increase biodiversity, ecology and wildlife. In addition, we have implemented numerous bat and bird boxes.
Natural Pest Control
We use specialised Avian Control at Plocks Farm by utilising the expertise of the falconers at Horus Birds Of Prey. This natural, non-invasive way of deterring pests works wonders at scaring off and keeping away various pest species such as gulls, who are as drawn to the smell of our world’s finest pet food as the pets we feed. Linda and the team use a variety of birds to take to the skies around Plocks Farm to ward off any avian pests and keep the area free from nesting or congregation.
We recycle and reuse all of our water on-site via our two wastewater treatment works.
Our on-site recycling plant works meticulously to separate cardboard, plastic, metal, paper, and other recyclable materials. Today, 98% of all waste generated on-site is recycled. Tomorrow, we are aiming for 100%.
We have invested £9 million in our state-of-the-art odour abatement system, which has resulted in a significant reduction in all odours. This is achieved with our five large bio-beds that scrub the air clean before releasing it back into the atmosphere.
As well as our local community, we are proud to sponsor local and national charities such as Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and Derian House Children’s Hospice.