Growing low-carbon veg in the UK

We invest in low-carbon farming, including the UK’s biggest glasshouse, as part of Cushon’s Sustainable Investment Strategy. 

This site in Suffolk produces over 100,000 sweet peppers a week, but has a carbon footprint that’s 75% smaller than it would be if it was heated in a conventional way.

The trick? Reusing the waste heat from a nearby water treatment works.

What's the investment?

Covering the equivalent of about 20 football pitches, the structure at Ingham near Bury St Edmunds is the largest single-block greenhouse in the UK. 

It’s so big that the staff tending the crops use bicycles to get around it. The window panes contain three times the amount of glass used to build The Shard in London. 

Fossil fuels would normally be used to provide the large quantities of heat required for growing food this way.

Instead, this glasshouse draws on the heat generated by a nearby wastewater plant. 

Image courtesy of Bom Group

How does this grow pension savings?

Members’ money owns a share of the farm, and makes profits from the vegetables produced. 

The glasshouse uses some of the latest innovations in technology to increase yields of vegetables, and therefore profits. 

What’s more, because of the use of waste heat, the farm qualifies for long-term government funding that encourages renewable energy. 

This increases the profitability of the farm, and the returns made for investors, including Cushon members

What's the impact on the environment?

As many of us know from personal experience, growing fruit and vegetables in the winter months in the UK can be hard work. 

As a country we are reliant on imports of many fresh fruits and vegetables for much of the year.

By creating new, low-carbon agriculture techniques within the UK we take a step towards ensuring we have reliable supplies for the future.  

What’s more, growing more of our food close to home can cut down on food miles, including the carbon associated with transporting products.

Our CIO Victoria Humble, at the Bury St. Edmunds pepper farm.

Why is your money being invested this way?

Our job is to make sure your money has the opportunity to grow for you to use in later life. This means we think carefully about which investments are fit for the future. 

We see industries that are stuck in the past, in the way they treat the environment, people and society, as being riskier. 

These risks may mean those investments are less likely to grow, and some may even lose value.

At the same time, investments that reduce and absorb carbon emissions, and create climate-friendly assets for the future, provide opportunities for the long term. 

Our approach seeks to make the most of the opportunities while reducing the risks, so you can have a future that’s worth retiring into.

Article by

NatWest Cushon