OUR CARBON PLEDGE

We’ve reduced emissions on our own and our suppliers’ farms with a committed sustainability plan and incentive programme. This covers animal feed, land management and energy use as well as regenerative farming and nurturing of the soil. It encourages biodiversity, improves soil quality and helps to reduce emissions, supported by the use of organic fertiliser produced at our renewable energy plant, bringing the CO₂e output per litre of milk to 20% under the national average.

When we make Ivy’s Reserve, nothing is wasted. These principles were laid down by Ivy nearly 100 years ago and still guide us today. In crafting our cheese and butter, we cut down on packaging, recover heat, filter and reuse our wastewater, and boost energy efficiency at every stage. For us, sustainable cheesemaking means honouring tradition while protecting the land and preserving natural resources for generations to come.

We run on 100% green energy, powered by nature. Solar panels capture daylight to generate clean electricity, while our anaerobic digester transforms farm and dairy waste into biogas - providing renewable heat and power for our cheesemaking. This closed-loop system turns waste into energy, saves 20 million kilos of CO₂ every year, and keeps our production running efficiently without relying on fossil fuels.

Water is one of our most precious resources, so we treat it as such. At Ivy’s Reserve, we harvest rainwater and recycle wastewater through advanced filtration systems, so nothing is wasted. By reusing water across our processes, we reduce demand on our local supply and keep our craft as gentle on the environment as possible, just as Ivy would have wanted.

Every block of Ivy’s Reserve cheese and every pat of butter has its carbon footprint independently calculated and neutralised through the purchase of offsets. From the fields to the dairy, we work tirelessly to cut emissions at every stage, using green energy, improving efficiency, and reducing waste. It’s all part of our promise to craft exceptional cheddar with care for the land and the future. To explore the details of our footprint calculation and reduction measures, click here.

The River Brue winds through our valley where we farm, and we do everything we can to protect and nurture the countryside around it. We set-aside areas for wild flowers and native species, plant trees, and hedgerows, and create habitats with bird boxes and insect hotels. You can discover more at our Visitor Centre, where this care for nature is part of everyday life, a tradition passed down from Ivy, her husband Tom, and generations of our family who believed in living in harmony with the land.