As part of our continued efforts to become a nature-positive retailer, on 14th February teams from Sainsbury’s, Moy Park and the Woodland Trust created a natural woodland by planting a mix of 500 native broadleaf trees at Moy Park’s Beech Farm, to support natural habitat opportunities and resources for wildlife.
We have been working with Moy Park for many years, and our partnership has already delivered huge milestones in animal welfare. In March 2023, in partnership with Moy Park and our trusted Sainsbury’s Chicken Farmer Group, we were the first retailer of our scale to reduce maximum bird stocking density to 30kg/m2, providing our birds with 20% more space than the industry standard. We have since been working on exciting nature-positive initiatives on farm, including many at Beech Farm, Moy Park’s ‘farm of the future’. One of these initiatives is the use of Agrisound, which will give unique insights into the local pollinator population and allow us to quantify the positive impact our actions are having on biodiversity.
Beech Farm is the first of its kind in the UK, which reduces Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 100%. The farm has been constructed with overall sustainability at the forefront and has been designed to reduce energy related greenhouse gas emissions by 100% when all systems are operating at capacity. The natural woodland created by the partnership will further increase the nature-positive footprint of the farm and will inform and guide our future plans for nature-positive initiatives on other indoor poultry farms.
Hugo Hanna, Research and Development Officer, Moy Park “Biodiversity plays a key part in our sustainability strategy as we strive to reach net-zero by 2040. Woodland areas are vital for providing shelter for wildlife, food and forage for birds and help nurture healthy habitats. We are thankful to Sainsbury’s and the Woodland Trust for their support to deliver this impactful biodiversity project at one of our flagship farms which has been built from the ground up with sustainability in mind.”
Henry Blain, Head of Livestock, Sainsbury’s “Nature-positive agriculture is extremely important to Sainsbury’s and our customers. It’s great to be part of a project establishing agroforestry on poultry farms in partnership with Moy Park and the Woodland Trust. It’s a step towards nature positive farming and climate resilient sourcing”
Paul Woodgate, Outreach Adviser , Woodland Trust “As an organisation we are focused on planting native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife. As it matures, the new woodland at Beech Farm will help deliver on these objectives and protect and promote the biodiversity of the area.”
