On the ground...
Over the past century, soil quality has been depleted mostly due to unsustainable land management practices that disrupt natural processes that create carbon-rich organic matter. Fortunately, our millers recognise the importance of rebuilding healthy soils by replacing the organic matter that has been lost: nutrient-rich humus.
Humus is our hero as it can also fight climate change by retaining the carbon in the atmosphere in the soil. The grain for Risen flour is grown on this humus-rich soil and farmed in a sustainable manner.
In the mill...
Not only is the wheat sourced from local farms close to the mill, but our millers uphold a zero-waste principle, so every grain is used during the milling process. Solar panels contribute to the 100% green energy supply, e-mobility is used on site and the mill continues to plant trees and set up beehives.
Another goal is promoting biodiversity. But what does that actually mean? Nature needs space and protection to support the variety of life which is constantly under threat so our millers plant biodiversity strips to serve as bird-feeding areas and a retreat for local wildlife.
By working in harmony with nature, Austrian farming has been at the forefront of environmentally-friendly agriculture for decades and to this day has prevented the production of genetically engineered crops in the country. And this is why we source our flour from Austria. #respect
On the move...
Even though Risen flour is produced in Austria, our food miles are kept to a minimum. Our flour is transported by rail, which has a reduced carbon-footprint than by road, to the UK. Choosing to work with environmentally-conscious transport providers for our transportation, storage and delivery, helps us keep our impact to a minimum.
We know that it’s this bit that leaves the biggest footprint, so we are working with National Parks UK to offset our carbon through their Revere programme. Bear with us - this part of our business is incredibly important to us so we’ll be updating and improving what we are doing as we go along.
Our packaging is carbon neutral, FSC Certified and printed with vegetable ink. It is, of course, recyclable and our delivery boxes are free from plastic tape.
Our partners
We are super proud to be working with National Parks UK, established over 70 years ago, these much loved landscapes cover 10% of Britain’s landmass. Appreciating the great outdoors and respecting Mother Nature is close to our hearts so it was important to align ourselves with a partner whose work was all about that.
Buying Risen flour helps us to contribute to the National Parks’ tree planting programmes which falls within their Net Zero with Nature strategy; defining the role that the National Parks can play in the UK's fight against climate change and the biodiversity crisis. Their expertise helps us on our sustainability mission to become net zero as soon as we can.
We know it is vital to compensate and reduce our environmental footprint and we couldn’t work with anyone better to do that.
Ocean Cleanup’s mission
Ocean Cleanup’s mission is to collect 90% of the plastic in our oceans by 2040 by intercepting it in rivers. As we all know, plastic pollution in the world’s ocean is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time. Not only does it impact marine life but it carries toxic pollutants into the food chain, to us. Knowing what you are actually putting in your mouth is one of the reasons to bake your own bread so supporting Ocean Cleanup and all that they do makes total sense to us.
We chose these partners because plastic pollution and climate-changing carbon emissions really upset us here at Risen. If we can offset some of the damage these two evils are doing, then we can sleep a little better at night.