We hae meat is a butchers business established in 2007 by Alex & Carlyn Paton as a diversification from their family farm. From one butchers shop on their local high street, they are now a market leader, the biggest manufacturer of square sausage, and supply supermarkets across Scotland. As farmers as well as butchers, the Paton's are passionate about the environment in which they operate and have been on a sustainability journey since 2015. In 2022, they were assessed as Scotland's most sustainable food business by Scotland Food & Drink.
We hae meat Ltd (WHM) is a farm diversification business that was launched in 2007 by farming husband & wife team Alex & Carlyn Paton. Starting from one butchers shop which the couple opened on their local high street supplied with meat from the cattle from their own and other local farms. Now employing 60 local people, WHM was identified as the fastest-growing Scottish food brand in the Kantar Scottish Brand Footprint 2022. In recognition of their industry-leading carbon management plan, they were awarded Scotland Food & Drink's inaugural "Most Sustainable Business Award" in 2022.
WHM employs 60 local people with full-time, secure employment. The company hosts farm-to-fork school visits and provides financial support through sponsorship of local youth sports clubs, including football, boxing, and rugby. The company is in the process of installing public, disabled-friendly footpaths on their farm land that will be accessible from the local village. They are also working on a plan for a potential district heating network for the local village through the extraction of heat from redundant coal mines on their farm land. The company uses only local suppliers, contractors, and tradespeople where possible. Excess product stock is supplied to Fareshare. The company petitioned the local council to put a bus stop outside of their rural manufacturing site to make them more accessible to employees and visitors. They offered the local community a “warm space” in their meeting rooms during the recent winter when the home energy crisis was affecting many.
Industry-leading ethical and environmental standards are at the heart of the business. The company started their sustainability journey with an independently verified carbon assessment and reduction plan in 2015 and managed to reduce their emissions by 87% within a year. This was followed by a second audit/action plan in 2021, where they rebased their emissions due to increased production from their site. As a result of the actions taken, they have reduced their emissions by 97% (463 tonnes) since 2016. Actions to date include the installation of a renewable power plant. Their combined heat and power (CHP) units burn wood from their own and other local farms (felled under licence), providing them with 75% of the site's electricity needs and 100% of its heating and hot water. They shred waste cardboard to make straw for their farm animals to bed down in winter. They repackaged their products in trays that are fully recyclable and optimized pack sizes to reduce the amount of packaging used. The company is a member of Sedex, and workforce-related measures include changing employees' shift patterns to allow them to work fewer days, longer hours, thus reducing commuting, and changing start and finish times to coincide with public transport timetables. They replaced their diesel van fleet with electric hybrids for local deliveries, installed an LED and motion-activated lighting system, and introduced regenerative farming techniques such as wildflower borders on their farm.
Find out more about the finalists for the Helping it Happen Awards 2023