At Butternut, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. As a company driven by purpose, we know that leading the fresh dog food industry means more than just offering great products—it means being mindful of our impact on the world. We strive to support not only our customers and team but also the communities we’re part of and the environment we all share. We recognise that making a meaningful difference is a journey that takes time, and while we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we are always looking for new ways to grow and improve.

As a team, we’re incredibly proud to be a B Corp, a distinction we first earned in September 2022 as one of the first 1,000 B Corps in the UK, scoring 82.6. Being a B Corp isn’t just a badge for us—it’s a core part of who we are. It means we’re dedicated to making a positive impact for people, the planet, and our beloved dogs (you’ll hear this theme a lot because it’s central to our mission).

As we keep raising the bar in pet food and manufacturing, we're fully committed to making a difference that goes beyond our bowls. When it’s time to re-certify in 2025, we’re eager to explore how our growth at Butternut can continue to drive meaningful progress in sustainability.

Sustainability is a regular part of life here at Butternut, and we keep the whole squad in the loop by regularly sharing updates on our impact journey. Our approach is built around three core pillars: Planet, People, and Product. We know that to make a real difference, we need to focus on all three.

We’re excited to share some of our favourite sustainability highlights below and give you a peek at the amazing work our team is up to. For a complete look at how we’re making an impact—covering everything from our squad’s well-being and growth to the ways we’re supporting the community—check out our 2023 Impact Report. It’s your go-to for a full picture of everything we’ve been working on in 2023 and the exciting plans that we are already working on this year.

At Butternut, we’re on a mission to continually improve our impact on the environment with a range of exciting initiatives.

From perfecting our recipes and powering up with renewable energy to conserving water and trimming down our packaging and transport miles, we’re constantly pushing the envelope. Plus, we’ve proudly hit zero waste to landfill since opening our doors to Rudie’s kitchen in 2021 with 77% of our waste either being recycled or converted into biogas.

Here’s just one of our highlights that we’re especially proud of:

We’ve just rolled out the first phase of a cutting-edge heat recovery system between our Ace’s Pantry fulfilment centre and Rudie’s Kitchen. This innovative technology captures waste heat and recycles it to warm the water for our boilers, which in turn produces the steam needed to cook our meals.

By using less gas, we’re significantly lowering our greenhouse gas emissions and lessening our impact on the planet. And this is just the beginning—our ultimate goal is to generate all our steam from waste heat, eliminating gas use entirely and moving towards a zero-emission factory.

At Butternut, we’re dedicated to making our workplace exceptional. Our revamped career framework focuses on clear performance expectations and fair pay, and across our team, there have been over 70 promotions this year. We prioritize DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) fostering a respectful environment with annual Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment training. We actively recruit diverse talent, aim for 40% diversity in first interviews, and support initiatives like Codebar.

We’ve introduced Paws Days for additional leave focused on wellbeing, and a Sabbatical Policy for long-serving team members to rejuvenate and grow. To further support our squad, we provide mental wellbeing resources, including counselling and therapy. We’re proud of our team’s dedication and strive to make Butternut a fantastic place to work.

In addition to our internal efforts, here’s a sneak peek at some of our charity work in 2023:

We donated 82,960 meals to dogs in need and completed 1,052 hours of volunteering. We’re pleased to have partnered with 8 new charities— you can find out more about these in our impact report. Our contributions also included two freezers, a bunch of bouncy balls, and 1,776 additional product donations, including treats. In total, we provided over £120,000 in financial support and product donations.

This is all thanks to our customers and squad and we are truly grateful.

Keep an eye out through 2024, as we’re rolling out some exciting initiatives to match our growth and keep making a positive impact on the lives of dogs and people everywhere.

When it comes to evaluating the impact of our products, we focus on three key areas: Responsible Sourcing, Packaging, and Nutrition. We prioritise working with suppliers who are committed to environmental sustainability and uphold the same ethical standards as we do. That’s why we build close relationships with partners who share our values and contribute to a positive impact on both the planet and society.

Here’s a quick look at some of our recent highlights:

At the end of 2023, we joined forces with SEDEX, a platform that helps us assess and manage social and environmental sustainability within our supply chain. This collaboration will also allow us to work more closely with our suppliers to elevate standards for all. We’re genuinely excited about this step, knowing that as our supply base expands and grows more complex, maintaining transparency can become more challenging. We’re committed to integrating Sedex into our supplier onboarding and governance processes, aiming to have most of our existing suppliers on the platform by the end of 2024.

We’re now sourcing our poo bags from StarchBag in Poland instead of China. This shift helps reduce transport emissions whilst still allowing us to provide a plant-based product that’s EN13432 certified, meaning it can safely break down in home compost within a matter of weeks.

This year, we are very excited to announce that we’ve reduced the thickness of our meal film used in the bottom of our pouches by 20% which reduces the plastic we use by a chunky 12% or 60 tonnes. And since there will be less packaging to transport, this should also remove 3 full truck deliveries from our supplier, saving 3500 road miles as well as improve the speed we process our meals saving on energy by reducing the number of reel changeovers.

As part of our Butternut family, you might be wondering how you can pitch in to minimise your environmental footprint. We’ve got some top tips to help you make a difference:

Thanks for being a part of our sustainability journey!