At Livia’s, we never compromise on taste. We are also never willing to compromise on taking care of our planet. We only have one of them, so we’re hungry for solutions to some of the big challenges facing us today!
We’re committed to making our products the right way, which starts with getting to know our ingredients better and working with the lovely people who make our treats, so that we do it using less energy (and CO2). We’re also making sure we’re using the best possible packaging… priority number one: it needs to protect our products so that we don’t waste a thing (wasted food is worse for the planet than any other issue) and priority number two: how can we make it easier to recycle our packaging? We like a challenge!
Packaging
Plastic, I hear you say. Plastic, plastic. This is a really complicated story, but we’ll try and keep it brief. The bottom line is, plastic is an amazing material. The thing that is most certainly not amazing is where it’s ending up.
If there’s one thing our founder Olivia can’t stand in her kitchen it’s waste. That’s why we’re proud to say that currently none of our delicious goodies get wasted, every single one gets sold, sampled or given away. The harsh reality is that 8% of global carbon emissions come from needless food waste and this figure would increase radically without the widespread use of fit-for- purpose food packaging. That’s where plastic comes in and why it’s important that we work together to build a circular economy for plastics. The circular economy means ditching needless plastic and just using what’s essential, NEVER littering it and then recycling it over and over again.
We use a type of plastic film which is pretty special, it’s called Polypropylene (PP for short) and whenever you use it in its rigid form, e.g. yoghurt pot, food tray, then it will go neatly in your recycling bin. Unfortunately, even though it’s still recyclable when made into a film (like our wrappers), it isn’t widely collected in the UK for recycling. The great news is that industry and government agree this needs to change, and fast, so we’re sticking close to a lovely organisation called CEFLEX and their mission circular.
We have recently switched our plastic Million Square trays for recyclable uncoated cardboard trays, cutting our annual use of plastic by over 3 tonnes!
Whilst we’re excited about the opportunity for changes in UK recycling, we aren’t resting on our laurels until they’re actually here. In parallel we are exploring alternative ways of sending our treats to you, whilst observing rule #1: it must protect our scrumptious goodies long enough so that none get wasted. If you have any ideas for how we could do this better, please would you let us know by writing to hello@livias.co.uk
Plant-based treats and climate change
Plant-based food can form a significant part of a balanced diet, one that is good for both you and the planet. Everywhere you look there’s another piece of evidence pointing us in that direction.
Plants take a lot less land, water and carbon to raise than animal-based products. We’re rapidly running out of the first two and producing way too much of the third, so a massive positive step each and every one of us can take is to eat more plant-based food.
We’re pleased to help you feel a bit better about your footprint simply by choosing our 100% plant-based products! A tasty way to support the much-needed movement for change.
And we don’t just stop with the ingredients. We also work with our factory partners to monitor energy and water in order to find ways to reduce those, as that directly takes carbon out of our footprint. In addition, we’re looking for ways to drive waste out as another key way to avoid needless carbon emissions.
If this has left you hungry for more ways to understand and reduce your own carbon footprint, then check out the clever chaps at the WWF, they can help you work yours out. Armed with that info you can start taking actions to reduce it. You could even go one step further and sign up to offset your own carbon emissions, we think these guys @OffsetEarth are great.
