‘Sustainability is the difference between winning and losing a contract’
Glasgow-based McLays Foods has supplied meat and fresh produce to Scotland’s catering trade for over 30 years, including many councils and universities. They make 1,200 deliveries per week.
McLays regularly bid for competitive public sector contracts, which they say are demanding higher climate credentials than ever before.
“The way you score on sustainability can now be the difference between winning or losing a contract.” Karen McCabe
McLays joined Climate Springboard’s six-week net zero programme in 2023 looking for help to quantify the impact of their changes and communicate it to potential customers.
After calculating their carbon footprint, McLays found that deliveries accounted for a much bigger share of their footprint than they had anticipated. So, ahead of switching to electric vans once a suitable refrigerated model is available, they are focusing on reducing emissions by using fuel more efficiently. Using journey-tracking data, they have moved many deliveries to off-peak times to avoid congestion. This has made deliveries 17% quicker on average – the equivalent of taking a van off the road for 2 weeks a year.
McLays now groups deliveries of products that require the same storage temperature. This prevents the unnecessary cooling of vans to multiple temperatures at once, a fuel-intensive process. They have also reduced the number of vehicles on the road by using empty vans to collect new stock on the way back to the depot.
Technical Manager Karen McCabe explains that at the heart of McLays’s approach is open dialogue and continuous feedback. They have surveyed their customers about what matters most to them – from cost to food miles – and used the results to discuss making sustainable changes that still meet their needs.
McLays have found success in trialling changes first with customers already receptive to sustainability initiatives – or where the impact will be small – before rolling them out widely.
These changes have helped McLays secure new contracts: They now supply both meat and fresh produce to customers who were previously only using the company for one or the other.
Top tips from McLays Foods:
- Start recording data now! Even if you’re not able to start acting on it, it will save you time later.
- Don’t be afraid to talk about all the things you’re doing for sustainability in your tenders, whether it worked or not.
- Use every opportunity to try new ways of working. Be open to feedback and continually improve. Taking climate action is a constant process.
Learn more
Sign up for Climate Springboard, a free business support programme by Edinburgh Climate Change Institute. It’s designed to equip SMEs in Scotland with the knowledge and tools to start out on their journey to net zero.
It lasts just over a month and is completely free. At the end, attendees leave with a company carbon footprint, a template for a long-term net-zero strategy, and a tailored list of quick ways to lower emissions and costs.