Better Nature awarded industry-leading Carbon Negative and Plastic Negative accreditation

This Earth Day (Thursday 22nd March), one of the UK’s fastest-growing meat-free brands Better Nature announce their most impressive sustainable credentials to date. Through working with Foodsteps and ClimateCare, Better Nature have more than compensated for their emissions and are now carbon negative, and have worked with rePurpose to become Plastic Negative for their new product range, launching June 2021.

As a climate-conscious meat-free brand, Better Nature already has a very low carbon footprint, and in July 2020, the company became the first meat-free brand to become plastic neutral through their partnership with rePurpose Global. Today’s announcement further secures their positioning as a sustainability leader within the plant-based industry, becoming both carbon and Plastic Negative. These new accreditations are another commitment to creating meat alternatives that don’t compromise on people, the planet or animals, and add to existing initiatives such as carbon neutral deliveries, limiting and offsetting flights and energy used at their Head Office, and introducing recycled card into packaging and marketing materials.

The carbon negative accreditation comes following a CO2 footprint audit by Foodsteps, the leading provider of environmental footprint data and carbon labels, taking into account the full product lifecycle of their new range. All of their products received the highest A rating, which means the products have “very low” carbon emissions. Better Nature then works with ClimateCare, a global leader in the development of emission reduction projects and carbon neutral programmes, to offset double these carbon emissions through various global projects, including two world-leading clean cooking projects in Bangladesh and Ghana.

To receive their Plastic Negative rating, Better Nature share their quarterly plastic use with rePurpose Global, the world's first plastic credit platform dedicated to reducing waste, and contribute the amount of money it would take to remove double the amount of plastic from the environment. This money goes towards one of rePurpose Global’s Impact Project, based in West Java in Indonesia, where tempeh first originated. They are also working to reduce their plastic usage and ensure their packaging is 100% recyclable where possible.

Anya Doherty, CEO of Foodsteps, comments: “Addressing food's impact on the environment is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Better Nature is leading the way by offering protein with an exceptionally low carbon footprint. Not only did they achieve our 'Very Low' carbon footprint rating (category A) for all five of their new tempeh products, they also went the extra mile to take responsibility for this footprint by offsetting more than their share to become carbon negative. Foodsteps is looking forward to working closely with Better Nature to take further strides on this exciting journey”.

Aude Duquesne, Head of Client Services at ClimateCare, states: "We work with forward-thinking organisations like Better Nature to turn their climate responsibilities into positive outcomes. Our trademark Climate+Care approach helps organisations take a smart approach to addressing their environmental impacts by offsetting their carbon emissions through projects which also support sustainable development”.

Svanika Balasubramanian, Founder and CEO of rePurpose Global, comments: “Better Nature's Plastic Negative Certification is no small achievement. We’ve enjoyed seeing the company rally around sustainable action and take bold steps to implement the necessary changes to their operations. Their pledge to sustainability is one we’re sure will inspire businesses across industries.”

Fabio Rinaldo, Head of Products & Co-Founder at Better Nature, adds: “Being carbon and Plastic Negative has been a goal of ours for a long time and we’re delighted to be able to reach that milestone with our new products, supporting these programmes run by leading climate change experts around the world. But we’re not stopping here. We’re working towards making our old ranges - the Tempeh Rashers and Mince - carbon negative too, with the goal of being a 100% Plastic Negative company by 2022, and a 100% carbon negative company by 2023.”

The carbon negative rating applies to Better Nature’s existing Soy Tempeh range and new products launching in June 2021 on betternaturefoods.co, Amazon and The Vegan Kind Supermarket - Southern-Style BBQ Ribz, Sweet & Smoky Rashers, Traditional & Tender Roast Bites and Shawarma-spiced Kebab Strips.

Carbon ratings for each product are:

- Southern-Style BBQ Ribz: 369g per 180g unit (A rating)

- Sweet & Smoky Rashers: 254g per 150g unit (A rating)

- Traditional Tender Roast Bites: 346g per 180g unit (A rating)

- Shawarma-spiced Kebab Strips: 344g per 180g unit (A rating)

- Soy Tempeh: 256g per 200g unit (A rating)

The Plastic Negative rating applies to all of Better Nature’s products, but will only feature on the packaging for their new range.