Abel & Cole | B Corp™

We’ve finally cracked refillable milk bottles. And we want to tell you how. After 3 years. 7 teams of experts. And 3 failed experiments. We’ve done it. Thanks to plastic. Surprised? So were we. We’ve been saying no to pointless plastic since 1988. But by switching to our Club Zero Milk Refillable plastic bottles, our new innovation could save the UK 300,000 tonnes of carbon a year.* But only if all of our industry makes the switch. We’ve got years of learnings to share. And experts excited to tell you about it. All you have to do is get in touch. We’re ready when you are. Tesco Waitrose & Partners Asda Aldi UK Sainsbury's Lidl GB Marks and Spencer Ocado Retail Ltd Morrisons *Find out more and get in touch: https://bit.ly/3ZWgsVx Difficult tastes better. #ClubZero #Sustainability #Packaging #ZeroWaste #Plastic

Being a B Corp means using our business as a force for good. Especially for our local community. So we supplied a team of eager helpers to join our friends at Dons Local Action Group in Wimbledon for a day of volunteering. Dons Local Action Group are a crucial support for the local community, offering deliveries of food, furniture and so much more to those in need. Fresh food, kitchen essentials, cleaning supplies – even tailoring their aid packages to the needs of the recipient and their dietary requirements. Our volunteers spent the day busily collecting community donations at supermarkets in the area, as well as packing boxes to go out to those in need. Working alongside the volunteers at Dons Local Action Group, it was clear how going above and beyond was just a normal day for their team. Our team was incredibly proud to play a small part in their generous care for their community. “I want to say a massive ‘thank you’ to Abel & Cole, for their incredible support during their volunteering with us at Dons Local Action Group. It was fantastic to see your team come together with us, to make a difference in the local community. It’s vitally important that as many local businesses as possible continue to play an active role in supporting our community, and your efforts have truly made a positive impact.” Rob White, Operations Administrator Learn more about our other charity partners and the support we offer, here: https://lnkd.in/e6Wew3YJ #AbelandCole #Charity #Community #BCorp

A hard truth I’ve learnt as a writer? It isn’t easy to write about Sustainability. And it shouldn’t be – because being sustainable isn’t always easy either. ‘Eco’. ‘Planet-friendly’. ‘Green’. We see these words everywhere. In our Instagram feeds. In our inboxes. On our way to work. We’re saturated by them. And so, over time, they can begin to lose their power. Their positive intent. They end up feeling like empty buzzwords or shortcuts to Sustainability. Even when they’re true. In my time at Abel & Cole | B Corp™ , I’ve seen firsthand that Sustainability is no mere buzzword. It’s in the brand’s DNA – the driving force behind everything we do. Our team put so much hard work, thought and passion into making the right decisions for people and planet. It’s important then, that when we talk about Sustainability, our customers know they can trust what we say. That we’re a clear, responsible voice. But sometimes, that’s easier said than done. So, we challenged ourselves to put pen to paper – to articulate exactly what we’re promising, to ourselves and to our customers, when we write about Sustainability. ✔️ NO BIG TALK OR LOFTY CLAIMS. We focus on facts and back up our stats. Guidance from the ASA and Soil Association helps us to do this as clearly and thoroughly as possible. Whenever we can, we also work with independent experts to validate our efforts. ✔️ NO FILTER – PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION. When it comes to Sustainability, our work is never done. If we get something wrong, we own it and learn from it. ✔️ NO UNDUE CREDIT. We’re proud of and celebrate our successes, but we’ll never take credit for work we haven’t done. ✔️NO OBSCURE TERMS OR JARGON. We won’t oversimplify, but we will stop to explain – so everyone can come with us on the journey. ✔️ NO FLUFF OR FILLER. We get straight to the point and stay away from ambiguous, empty words like ‘green’. This doesn’t mean that we always get things right. Or that you’ll never see us use words like ‘sustainable’ or ‘ethical’ again. And these five guidelines certainly aren’t the end of the conversation. But they help us think more critically and carefully than ever about what we write and why – to try and stay on the right path. So, we jump off from here. Then, we keep talking about our writing. And we learn from each other, our colleagues and our customers. Because words are powerful. Language is important. But so is listening. Charlotte Hart, Brand & Content Lead at Abel & Cole What do you do to encourage writing responsibly about Sustainability? Let us know in the comments. #Sustainability #Leadership #Marketing #Communication

Since 1988, we’ve been serving up top-quality, organic fruit & veg to our shoppers' doorsteps. Maintaining that quality is of huge importance for our business and for one person in particular, Peter Bevan. Peter is our Agronomist, a role that’s not often recognised or understood outside of the food industry. Peter’s work effects every fruit & veg farmer we work with and every box we deliver, so we sat down with him to highlight the work of an agronomist. Please describe your job in one sentence I look after the quality and integrity of the fruit and vegetables at Abel & Cole. I make sure our customers get the very best of what’s in season from farms that really care about what they are doing. What does the day-to-day look like in your role at Abel & Cole? One day I could be out on our farms, looking at what produce is coming next or discussing any issues or problems they foresee. The next day I could be back at base, watching the produce being unloaded and packed for delivery out to our customers. What's unique about your job? I get to see the whole process. I'm not stuck with one part then passing on to someone else. I get to plan and develop new crops with farms then watch them develop all the way to being packed for customers the following year. What makes you so passionate about your job? I grew up on a small farm and I'm passionate about nature, so farming and organics is in my blood. Being able to help small family-run farms grow and develop, as well as providing a home for nature to develop, keeps me satisfied. That I can provide healthy and delicious food for people to eat is the icing on the cake. Do you have any favourite crops? One of my previous roles was in the soft fruit sector so I still get a little buzz when the first punnets of strawberries come in. If you’re interested in pursuing a career with us, check our available vacancies, here: https://lnkd.in/et9Eqb35 #AbelandCole #Jobs #Farming #Food

Independent endorsement of our great design - of course we'll milk it! Thank you judges at London Packaging Week for recognising how our team work with Abel & Cole | B Corp™ have helped reduce CO2 emissions. The project was complex, testing was rigorous, CO2 savings were significant and best of all it delivered sales uplift too!

This September, we released The Future Of Organic Fruit & Veg 2024 report. It’s filled with contributions from our organic growers, 1,000 surveyed consumers and 121 industry experts. We also called on the expertise of amazing food pioneers like River Cottage HQ’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, experts at the Soil Association, Ben Andrews from Broadward Hall Farm, Daniella Voisey CMgr MCMI from Isle of Wight Tomatoes | B Corp™. In our report, we’ve explored which organic fruit & veg is on the rise, what are growers are doing to adapt to climate change and so much more. We’ve also explored what it means to offer fair pay for farmers. We found 84% of shoppers believe supermarkets and the government should be doing more to make organic farming financially viable. Well so do we. It’s why we’ve always committed to paying our farmers fairly – a value we’ve stood by since 1988. Check out our insightful report, here: https://lnkd.in/ex6Di4ua #AbelandCole #Sustainability #Reporting #Farming

Just one more sleep til the Retail Gazette Awards #RGA2024. Some of our amazing finalists have been sharing how excited they are to be among such esteemed company in the running for an award. Here, Abel & Cole | B Corp™ a finalist for the Sustainability Game Changer award in partnership with Freeths share what it means to them! See all the finalists and keep a lookout for the winner announcements tomorrow night! https://lnkd.in/ekWatmzX

It’s been a whole year since we launched our game-changing, refillable Club Zero Milk Bottles. We’re incredibly proud to have introduced these innovative plastic bottles – the first of their kind in the UK. Our Club Zero Milk Bottles are finalists for The Grocer Sustainability Packaging award. But alongside critical acclaim, they’ve also had a huge sustainability impact too. Their reusable, refilable design has allowed us to save the use of over 151,000 single-use bottles so far. That equates to 18 tonnes of CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent). If the food & drink industry switched to refillable milk bottles like ours, we could save 300,000 tonnes of CO2e a year. We also want to thank all of our shoppers for engaging with this sustainable solution. More and more people are choosing to shop sustainably, with 75% of Club Zero shoppers returning their bottles to us each week. We’re working hard to bring more refills to our collection and to doorsteps across the UK. Learn more about Club Zero, here: https://lnkd.in/eiW5BzTx #AbelandCole #ClubZero #ZeroWaste #Packaging

Come along with Vanesia on a day in the life as a creative intern at Abel & Cole | B Corp™ . Her internship was made possible through My Blueprint for All's collaboration with Abel & Cole, creating a role that was filled with fun innovative tasks from the point of application to the very last day, all carefully curated to aid in developing candidates skills.   There’s a huge disparity in the number of graduates there are vs how many have been able to break into their desired industry, for many reasons such as financial difficulty, lack of diversity in the work place and insufficient experience. Research by postgraduate careers service prospects showed 96% of students admit that they face barriers when looking for jobs or apprenticeships due to a lack of skills and work experience. Are you one of those graduates? We've got you.


My.Blueprintforall.org provides resources and opportunities like the Foot in the Door internship to those who would benefit from it the most. Looking to upskill? Network? Discover unheard of career paths? We’ve got something for you

Guaranteed deliveries. Early access for returning shoppers. And a free mince pie when the festive season begins. We make Christmas shopping with us as fuss-free as possible. Because hosting and serving up a Christmas meal to be proud of has enough complications. So we don’t have a queue for delivery slots – we’ll be there no matter what. And if our customers shopped with us last year, we give them access to our festive range before anyone else. Plus, there’s a free mini mince pie packed for our shoppers, once the Christmas countdown begins. “Every year, we want to reward people who choose food done right at Christmas. Sustainably sourced. With no pointless plastic. And grown by expert farmers who are paid fairly for their work. To do that, we give them as many reasons as possible to choose us for their Christmas shop. Building trust and going the extra mile for that special delivery.” Ilyas, Head of Buying & Trading Get a first look at our Christmas store, here: https://lnkd.in/e4nVw9fF #AbelandCole #Christmas #Sustainability #Packaging