Seeds of Change – CMC Green Journey

🌱 Seeds of Change: Growing Greener at CMC
Back in 2020, when we set out to reduce CMC’s carbon footprint, we had a moment of collective pause: Where do we even begin? What did our environmental impact actually look like—and more importantly, what could we realistically do to change it?
We got lucky. An email from the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce landed in our inbox, highlighting the Chamber Low Carbon Green Rose Programme—six free sessions to support businesses like ours in building environmental management systems. We signed up right away. It turned out to be the best first step we could have taken.

🔋 Electrifying the Fleet: One Big Step Forward
It quickly became clear that our company fleet of cars was the largest contributor to our emissions. Fast forward to 2025: our entire fleet is now fully electric. That’s one major milestone ticked off. But of course, that’s just one part of a much bigger picture.

🧠 Learning as We Grow
None of us at CMC claim to be eco-warriors. But we are committed learners, and we’ve taken a collaborative approach—asking questions, reflecting, and figuring out where we can make a difference.
We started by breaking the business down into areas we could realistically manage. Rather than dive straight into supply chains or client work, we looked inward—beginning with how we, as individuals and teams, could change.

♻️ The Green Breakdown: From CMC to Clients
At CMC:
Transport: Electric fleet, smarter driving, fewer journeys.
Energy: Policies to switch off printers and devices when not in use.
Communication: A digital-first approach to reduce printing and email overload.
With Suppliers:
Preference for ethical, local, and seasonal produce.
Encouraging partners who share our environmental values.
For Clients:
Helping schools reduce food waste.
Supporting ethical and responsible food purchasing.
Equipping school catering teams with training and resources to build resilient, healthy food systems.
Assisting in reducing the carbon footprint of school menus.

🚚 Rethinking How We Deliver
We also re-examined how we deliver our services. By rearranging consultant school areas into more compact geographic zones, we cut down travel time and energy use—and gained more time to spend supporting schools.
Our shift to online training has been another game-changer. Catering staff are busy, and online sessions provide flexibility without compromising quality. It’s not only greener—it’s smarter.

We’ve also adopted digital tools to improve how we work and communicate. From internal chat systems to digital client audit reports and Zoom consultations, our workflows are more efficient—and more sustainable.

🌍 A Greener Outlook, A Healthier Future
This journey has reshaped our thinking. As a school catering consultancy that champions healthy eating and fresh, home-cooked food, it only makes sense that we also champion the planet that provides it.
We’ve lived through decades of abundance—BOGOF deals and overproduction—but we’re now asking ourselves a bigger question: What will future generations inherit? At CMC, we believe in doing our part to ensure they’re not short of food—or hope.
That’s why, in 2021, we made a commitment: CMC would get greener. We assessed every aspect of our business, asked how we could improve, and then got to work.

📈 So, How Are We Doing?

So we decided that 2021 would be the year that CMC became a little bit greener. We decided to assess how we conduct our business and what aspects of it we can change to help reduce our carbon footprint. So how have we done?
In 2021 CMC produced 40.4 tonnes of Co2e in 2025 we’ve reduced that to 17.41 tonnes a massive reduction of 56%.
We’re not perfect—and we’re still learning—but we’ve come a long way, we’ve planted the seeds of change.
And just like any good seed, we intend to nurture it—so it grows into something lasting.