Cream of the crops: Reducing emissions with Riviera

**A field with a view - One of Riviera’s Cornish sites**

As you will know by now, we believe good food should be available to everyone, no matter what their income. And that’s why our partnership with Riviera Produce is such a special one. Established in 1870, Riviera is a family-run business which grows high-quality vegetables like brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage) and courgettes on over 8,000 acres in Cornwall. Riviera are as committed to sustainability as we are so it’s a match made in vegetable heaven. The collaboration with Tom, David and the team, helps us to redistribute their surplus produce at the same time lower transport emissions while making fresh, healthy food accessible to more people.

Turning surplus into support

Every year, around 2 million tonnes of food in the UK go to waste. A lot of this surplus produce ends up in animal feed or anaerobic digestion, but with the right systems in place, it could go to people who really need it. That’s where our partnership with Riviera comes in. Together, we’ve developed a way to collect surplus crops and outgrades, such as cauliflower and courgettes, that would otherwise be re-ploughed or go to waste and deliver them to our warehouses in Manchester for redistribution.

But we didn’t stop there. We also created a backhaul route to make the process as environmentally efficient and cost-effective as possible. This means using empty spaces on trucks that would otherwise return without cargo to transport the produce, reducing emissions and cutting transportation costs.

The aim of the game

The aim of this collaboration is to reduce food waste and improve access to affordable, healthy food for low-income communities. By rescuing surplus produce before it’s discarded, we’re helping tackle food insecurity while also reducing our environmental impact. Riviera’s commitment to sustainable farming makes them an ideal partner in this effort, and the backhaul logistics help us minimize fuel use and carbon emissions.

From field to table

In 2024, we worked closely with Riviera and Morrisons to plan for surplus crops like courgettes and brassicas that might otherwise go to waste. We visited the farms, got to know the crops, and identified the times when these vegetables would be at risk of being left behind. The key challenge was creating a transport system that was both financially viable and environmentally efficient.

The solution was to use a backhaul model, where empty spaces on trucks from Morrisons’ fleet would pick up the produce at their distribution site in Cornwall and transport it to our Manchester warehouse. This approach helps save fuel, cut emissions, and get the food to where it’s needed most.

Saving food, saving emissions

So far, this initiative has rescued over 200 tonnes of produce, providing nearly half a million meals to households in need and saving 500 tonnes of CO2. The backhaul logistics have also saved £1,250 per journey, cutting Bread and Butter’s transport costs by £30,000 and saving over 7,600 miles in unnecessary travel.

This project shows how small changes, like better logistics and smarter planning, can make a big difference in tackling food waste and improving food access. And maybe, just maybe why it is now an award winner!

Thank you to the World Food Innovation Awards for recognising the initiative’s meaningfulness.