Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the way a business regulates themselves to ensure all activities positively affect society as a whole. Our CSR policy aims to steer our business decisions in a way that ensures the company works ethically, whilst considering the social, economic, and environmental impacts of what we do. CSR is important to us, and we aim to exceed the standards set out in relevant legislation and carry out best practices in every way. CSR is good for the planet, our employees, customers, and communities.

Our Mission

Our mission is to build upon our position as the wholesaler of choice to the independent health food trade by reinvesting financial gains in our people, our industry and our planet. Our motto is ‘in it together’.

Our People

The team at CLF underpin our success. Longevity of service by each member of staff ensures continuity of service for our suppliers and our customers alike. We have several measures and schemes in place to ensure staff have every opportunity to flourish during their time at CLF.

Employee Ownership – In 2022 CLF was sold to its employees in the form of an employee-owned trust. This means the benefit of the company’s achievements are shared with each and every team member. Employees have a voice raising issues that affect their day to day lives in a monthly employee council meeting. Numerous improvements have been made to facilities, employee benefits and even operational processes and efficiencies as a result.

Fair Pay – CLF is a member of the Living Wage Foundation and our hourly pay rates track above the Living Wage Foundation’s rates. We also offer skills rates to those who are trained in various areas of the business and generous overtime pay during busy times.

Equal Opportunities – The CLF team is a diverse community of mixed age groups, ethnicities and genders. Our pay rate is the same regardless of who you are and we do not pay a lower rate to younger workers. We offer numerous opportunities for progression and additional learning with CLF covering up to 100% of the costs for further skills development. Employee of the Month – The management team recognises staff members who work in an exemplary manner via the Employee of the Month scheme. The employee of the month is announced in the company’s monthly newsletter and a certificate is displayed in our staff room for everyone to see.

Recognising Length of Service – In recognition of longevity of service, staff receive a certificate and small gift on the anniversary of their start date each year. ‘Special’ length of service milestones every five years are recognised by a bigger gift/reward. Employees also gain an extra day’s holiday (up to an extra 5 days) for every year they have been employed at CLF.

Safety - Risk assessments, safe systems of work and our health and safety policy ensures that people are safe at CLF.

Our Industry

CLF fill the logistical gap between our customers and suppliers by delivering products accurately and 'Just in Time' 7 days a week. Our key focus is helping the independent bricks and mortar health food and healthy convenience retailers thrive.

Investment in Supply Efficiencies – We continue to invest in our IT systems to make our supply chain as efficient as possible. This allows us to offer short lead times and next day delivery to most customers. Our website has many features to allow retailers to make an informed purchase to refill their shelves just in time.

Our Planet

Environmentally friendly initiatives are at the heart of what we do. Running our business to have minimal impact on the environment and to help our retailers and consumers reduce theirs at the same time is something we truly believe in and strive towards.

Energy Efficiency - We have invested heavily in reducing our energy consumption. All our lighting has been upgraded to LED lighting which consumes up to a third less energy than our old fluorescent tube lighting. We use an energy provider that generates green electricity through wind, solar and tidal energy. Our offices are kept cool in the summer by using heat reducing window films and natural shading rather than air conditioning and our chilled and frozen storage areas use state of the art insulation materials and energy efficient cooling equipment. We have recently installed a voltage optimiser which reduces wasted energy and lowers consumption by up to 10%. We are also in the process of installing a 180kw solar PV system on our roof which will mean our daytime operation will run completely off grid – any energy produced that we do not use will be fed back to the grid.

Vehicles - Our van fleet is built with modern fuel-efficient vehicles and our delivery routes are optimised to reduce mileage and hence fuel usage. We don’t use temperature-controlled vehicles, our chilled and frozen orders are packed into thermal totes. We also backhaul from suppliers where possible to further reduce our environmental impact on the return journey. In October 2022 we added our first fully electric vehicle to the fleet and plan on adding more in the future.

Packaging Waste - CLF deliver in reusable tote boxes to reduce packaging waste. Any protective packing can be returned to CLF to be reused and wherever possible these are made with recycled materials. If a product is packaged in our state-of-the-art production facility, we do not pack in retail outers to reduce cardboard waste allowing our customers to order in single units. All products developed for CLF owned brands use reduced, recycled or plastic free packaging. Our household and personal care brands now offer a closed loop system on our refill containers where they are returned for cleaning and refilling. Our packaging is now almost 100% paper based and whilst the pallet wrap is plastic, it is made with a minimum of 30% recycled content. We bail our waste card/paper and plastic and send this to our recycling partner. Our waste is sorted prior to disposal so our general waste creation is minimal, and we only require a small general waste bin which is emptied once per week.

Employee Travel - We have introduced several schemes to encourage staff not only to stay active, but also to help reduce the number of cars on the road. At the start of 2021 we introduced a cycle to work scheme where CLF funds the purchase of a new bicycle where employees pay back a small amount each month. Many employees working in the office take advantage of our hybrid working model which allows them to work from home for three days a week. This reduces their weekly mileage in travelling to work and therefore reduces their carbon footprint.