Ingredient Solutions Ltd has always been a forward thinking company. The business was founded in 2000 at the very start of the millennium with “innovation” at the heart of the mission statement. Despite these most turbulent times Ingredient Solutions continues winning and maintaining contracts with some of the UK and Europe’s leading names in food service and production. Also now they export cheese to the food industry all over the world including the Middle East and China, even sending cheese regularly to the Bahamas.
The business strives to maintain the highest standards possible both in the production facility and in the customer service provided by the team. These high standards are now being applied to Ingredient Solutions’ approach to sustainability.
Ingredient Solutions has always been very conscious of its impact on the local environment. The production facility is situated in a thriving rural Irish village called Boherbue in North Cork, bringing vital employment to the community. The factory is surrounded by rolling hillsides and stunning landscapes so minimising the impact of the business on the local area has always been high on the list of priorities.
With climate change and sustainability at the forefront of world policies and recognising the importance of all sectors of industry to focus on their environmental impact, Ingredient Solutions set itself on a course to achieve the highest possible sustainability standards.
In 2020 Ingredient Solutions began a proactive route to achieving sustainability, recognising it was the business’ responsibility to measure its impact on the environment and to take action to achieve sustainability. The company began working with EcoVadis to set sustainability targets and measure its success in achieving them. This has resulted in the award of the top ranking, the Platinum Medal in 2021, achieved by only 1% of businesses.
Managing Director, Ian Galletly said,
“Having a sustainable business is critical in the current climate. As we grow, we invest and the Ecovadis platform was the ideal way for us to benchmark our progress. The team did a great job gaining Silver status first time round last year. That inspired us to aim higher still, so we expanded our cross-departmental team internally and partnered with Nexio Projects, an international sustainability consultancy based in Rotterdam, to drive us to Gold status this year. In the event we raised our game sufficiently to secure Platinum recognition, a huge achievement. To be in the top 1% of businesses assessed by Ecovadis is something we are really proud of. It’s now all about retaining and building for the future.”
The sustainability assessment is holistic and based on environmental factors, such as energy consumption and pollution during production as well as the environmental impact of the products themselves, for example the products’ end of life scenario. Business ethics are also included and the management and business practices are assessed to ensure that the business is responsible. The working environment of the staff, conditions, training, safety and rights are also investigated during the process. An action plan emerges from the assessment which guides staff in improving the sustainability of the business.
Receiving the highest award, the Platinum Medal, shows that Ingredient Solutions are at the forefront of their industry. A great deal of credit for the achievement lies with two key members of staff – Technical Manager, Suma Lakshmana, and Production Manager, Margarete Morski, who have been the driving force of this initiative.
Suma Lakshmana said, “I want to acknowledge and congratulate everyone who has contributed to this success. We can grow and improve even further on what has already been achieved with continued support and team work.”
Looking ahead to 2022, Ingredient Solutions intend to continue to improve sustainability still further. The company also anticipate that “Vegans Choice”, the newest addition to the Yellow Road Range, will be a popular new product. It’s a great tasting mozzarella alternative for the food industry, helping food businesses adapt their menus for a growing number of vegan and flexitarian consumers.
Catherine’s role is Technical Assistant and she is one of the newer members of the Ingredient Solutions team. Catherine recently graduated in Food Science and Innovation at WIT and is motivated, positive and enjoys working in a team. Catherine says, “I always see the good in every challenge that approaches me as they can lead to opportunities to learn more.” She is looking forward to focusing on the areas that she can control and learning how to perfect them.
Ted is the Factory Manager, he is the man that keeps everything running smoothly, supporting production and technical operations. He ensures that all the machinery within the factory functions at maximum efficiency and is properly maintained.
Suma has worked for Ingredient Solutions for two years as Technical Manager – leading the technical team. Before working for Ingredient Solutions, Suma worked in Asia, the Middle East and Europe and has over twenty years experience in management and leadership in food and other industries.
Pina is our UK Sales Support Administrator and has worked for Ingredient Solutions since 2012. She works alongside Gary Davies and the sales team providing them with sales information and supporting the team especially when they are on the road. Pina works remotely for Ingredient Solutions from her base in Luton in the UK.
Marek is based near Lublin, that’s not a typo we don’t mean Dublin, he’s our man on the ground in Eastern Europe.
