Family business scoops double win at Clean and Green Awards |
Muntons, which is headquartered in Stowmarket, Suffolk, was named winner of the Net Zero Award, sponsored by Orsted, and the Clean & Green Champion Award, sponsored by ScottishPower Renewables.
The family business was founded in 1921 and has embraced sustainability as far back as the 1950s.
Today, with two additional production sites in Yorkshire and a subsidiary in Thailand, Muntons’ vision is to be the world’s most sustainable malt and malted ingredients company.
The business has cut its emissions by 56%, versus its 2010 baseline, and uses on-site renewable energy to generate 49% of its power. It was honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in 2024.
Left to right: Kate Dixon and Penny Chan from Muntons with Sophie Lewis from Net Zero Award sponsor Orsted (Image: Matthew Potter Photography & Videography)
Muntons is passionate about helping its customers to be sustainable too, and last year launched the industry’s lowest-carbon malt, with up to 30% fewer emissions per tonne compared to the UK average.
The judges for the Net Zero Award said that Muntons stands out as a “true pioneer” in industrial decarbonisation.
They added: “Muntons embodies determination, collaboration and purpose-driven innovation, proving that even a century-old company can set the standard for a sustainable future.”
The manufacturer was also awarded with the top accolade of the East Anglia Clean & Green Awards, the Clean & Green Champion Award.
The winner of this award is hand selected from all other category winners by an expert panel of judges.
The Clean & Green Champion Award judges commended Muntons’ strong performance, which they said is “underpinned by science-based evidence”.
They noted its “commitment to sharing its ethos and learning through the supply chain, alongside supporting farmers and regenerative farming”.
Finally, the judges said that Muntons is “ahead of its time in delivering sustainable business”.
Left to right: Kate Dixon and Penny Chan from Muntons with Sophie Lewis from Net Zero Award sponsor Orsted (Image: Matthew Potter Photography & Videography)
Kate Dixon from Muntons was “completely and utterly blown away” by the win.
"We’re continuing our net zero goals, and a huge part of that is working on our collaborations with our farmers, looking at how we improve their footprint of farming and growing the barley that goes into our malt," she said.
Commenting on the Clean & Green Champion Award specifically, Kate said: “It’s such an accolade and a real recognition of not just recent work but all the decades of work at Muntons.
“Our company is over 100 years old – if we can make a sustainable difference, then absolutely everyone can!”
For more information on the East Anglia Clean and Green Awards, please visit cleanandgreenawards.co.uk
To learn more about all of the winners, please click here.
Delta Fire manufacturers firefighting equipment from its new site in Norwich, Norfolk, which operates on 100% renewable electricity.
The business was one of the UK’s first fire equipment manufacturers to achieve ISO 14001 certification. Delta Fire has also reached net zero across Scopes 1 and 2, and is offsetting Scope 3.
The judges said: “Delta Fire stands out for its deeply personal, values-driven commitment to sustainability.”
Spectra Packaging is a leading independent manufacturer of high-quality rigid plastic packaging, based in a state-of-the-art 17.4-acre facility in Halesworth, Suffolk.
Spectra has demonstrated significant progress in its decarbonisation journey, maintaining Scope 2 emissions at zero and driving down Scope 3 emissions to 770 tonnes.
The judges said Spectra “demonstrates an inspiring, values-driven commitment to sustainability”.
Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm will make a significant contribution toward UK energy security and is a cornerstone of the UK government’s climate and clean energy targets.
The project will deliver up to £8.5bn to the local, national and global economy through supply chain investment and the creation of thousands of high-skilled jobs during both construction and decades of operation and maintenance.
It will deliver enough green energy to power more than three million UK homes.
Located 120km off the Norfolk coast, Hornsea 3 is Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone, which it has been developing since 2015.
Clean & Green Champion Award
Greenyard Frozen UK which has a site in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, is one of the largest suppliers of British-grown produce to the UK frozen food market, with most crops (80%) grown intensively within 30 miles of its factories.
The judges praised Greenyard’s scalable, sustainable business model and said it demonstrates a “sustained, transformative focus on long-term energy and water reduction in frozen produce processing”.
Private aviation company Saxon Air based at Norwich Airport, provides tailored, safe and sustainable aviation experiences.
It helped to pioneer clean aviation strategy Aviation East and has integrated electric aircraft trials, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and more.
Recognising its “pioneering approach”, the judges said Saxon Air shows a “bold commitment to transforming aviation into a cleaner, more sustainable industry”.
ScottishPower Renewables is part of the ScottishPower group of companies operating in the UK under Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest integrated utility companies and a leader in wind energy.
The business is at the forefront of the development of the renewables industry through pioneering ideas, forward thinking and outstanding innovation. It is currently operating and building three offshore windfarms in the Southern North Sea off East Anglia.
These projects are delivering investment, jobs and supply chain opportunities, keeping businesses and communities powered and providing a cleaner, greener future for all.