A baker who made the cake for the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales has decided to invest in going green.
Fiona Cairns was invited to make the cake to mark Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton when they tied the knot in 2011.
She had previously baked for the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Bono – TV presenter Dermot O’Leary said he “adores” her fruit cake – and her royal design featured 17 different blooms and foliage. In all, the finished creation had 900 sugar flowers.
Her business, based in Fleckney, Leicestershire, supplies cakes and biscuits to high-end retailers including Waitrose, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, and Selfridges, and sends weekly shipments to Dunnes Stores in the Republic of Ireland.
Ms Cairns, a former pastry chef who honed her skills in Michelin starred Hambleton Hall, Rutland, founded the company almost 40 years ago with her husband. Today it employs more than 120 staff.
The business – called Fiona Cairns Ltd – is now taking the step to cut energy usage and carbon emissions by installing 4,500 sq ft of solar panels on one of its three production units.
They are using funding from the Lloyds Bank Clean Growth Financing Initiative which provides customers with access to discounted lending for green investments.
The panels will supply almost a third of the building’s energy – and about 10 per cent of the business’ total energy usage – and reduce CO2 emissions by 15 tonnes per year.
The business is also planning to use electricity generated when the factory is closed at weekends to charge its three electric forklift trucks.
Tara Patel, director at Fiona Cairns, said: “Sustainability is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time, and as the next generation of leadership, it’s important to look at all areas of the business to see where we can reduce our impact on the environment.
“The installation of our solar panels forms just one part of our sustainability journey, and when combined, these changes are helping us to bring down the emissions of our business.
“Retailers are increasingly scrutinising the emissions of their suppliers. As a partner to some of the UK’s most prominent retailers, it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re operating as sustainably as possible, helping them to achieve their net zero ambitions, as well as our own.”
Fiona Cairns recently became RSPO certified for demonstrating that its palm oil comes from sustainable sources. Its food waste is used to help generate electricity, and the cake maker now aims to send zero waste to landfill.
Most of the firm’s packaging is produced locally by Leicestershire suppliers, and the company is looking at strategies to reduce the quantity used, including shrinking the size of the plastic windows in its cake boxes.
Further plans are in the pipeline to install solar panels across all three production units on site.
Noshad Khowaja, relationship director for SME banking at Lloyds Bank, said: “Fiona Cairns is a fantastic brand which has built an excellent reputation with its customers.
“From royalty to the supermarket shelf, it’s great to see a local firm like this not only succeed in the world of business but also realise the benefits and opportunities that come with sustainable changes.
“The food and drink sector accounts for over a quarter of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions.1 At Lloyds Bank we’re committed to helping businesses such as Fiona Cairns to reduce their environmental impact and supporting sectors to work towards a low carbon economy.”
