Oakpark Foods Limited
Membership Status:
Approved until 31 May 2021
Sector:
Meat
About the company
Oakpark is part of the family owned Brett Group started in 1940 by Bridget Brett and her four sons. The company’s success has grown from the roots of a small agricultural merchant, selling inputs to farmers in Kilkenny and Tipperary to a multinational pork and bacon processor servicing some of the biggest retailers in the world.
Oakpark, run by brothers John and David Brett, has invested heavily in recent years to bring the most modern slicing and tractability technology available in the food industry. The factory, in Cahir, Co. Tipperary supplies premium added value bacon products to retailers right across Europe and further afield. The business employs over 160 people.
Key Sustainability Commitments
The Management and staff of Oakpark are dedicated to implementing our Origin Green targets as follows:
Committed to Responsible Sourcing:
Oakpark are committed to sourcing raw materials from suppliers with sustainability programmes in place – Currently 83% of raw materials are sourced from suppliers with sustainability certificates.
Committed to Sustainable Packaging:
Oakpark are committed to reducing non - recyclable plastics used for our products. We now offer recyclable packaging on a number of our ranges and we endeavour to continue to implement this for further products.
Focused on Health & Nutrition:
Continued focus on Health and Nutrition, working with our suppliers and customers to develop and offer healthier option products like our Turkey rasher range. Oakpark are also committed to supporting various local charities and groups in any way that we can for the benefit of the local community.
Social Media Links
Exemplary Performance Target Areas
Minimum Origin Green Targets Required Annually = 6
Spotlight Target Area: Energy
Oakpark started their journey with Origin Green in 2016 and using 2015 as their baseline year, they developed a 5 year sustainability plan setting targets to measure their sustainability impacts. The company’s main source of energy is electricity so this became one of the main areas they focussed on and set a stretch target for.
Seeing a huge opportunity to deliver real cost savings and efficiencies, the team at Cahir set an ambitious target to reduce their electricity usage by 30% kWh/kg output by 2020. Project led by Regina McGuirk and Colm Murphy , the team made significant progress in 2019 and exceeded this target resulting in a 32% reduction in electricity in kWh/kg output for the year.
Energy Saving Actions
The team implemented a wide array of energy saving actions such as:
- Ongoing replacement of fluorescent lights with LED/sensor lights
- Refrigeration upgrade to compressor packs and fridge units
- Added a remote start /stop system on vacuum pumps synchronized with Multivac start button
- Re-piped the compressed air system which led to a reduction in power consumption (by reducing the psi pressure on the generator),
- Replaced the electrical terminals for MCB panels, and installed power factor correction to reduce the amount of reactive power and avoid wattless unit charges
- Replaced a number of fan units in the factory to new energy efficient units
- Installation of a new energy efficient gas-fired smoke oven
- Added PIR sensor lights in amenity areas.
“Achieving this status is testament to the hard work and dedication by our team in delivering on our ambitious targets. Sustainability is now an expectation in the mind of the consumer and this prestigious recognition will help Oakpark to further grow our business in European retail markets.”
David Brett, MD
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