Ellers Farm Distillery, in North Yorkshire, has announced an exciting update to the distillery’s ambitious vision of balancing people, planet, and profit in business to drive sustainability within the drinks industry with Pending B Corp® status.
The Pending B Corp® status means Ellers Farm Distillery, set to open its distillery and visitor centre to the public in spring 2022, will have one year to become a Certified B Corp® and join the 500+ other UK companies verified to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
To help in this goal, the distillery hired Tabatha Hurst as the Head of Sustainability from the beginning of the company’s existence. She joins with a wealth of experience in the food and drink sector. After studying Environmental Science and Sustainability at university, she started off her professional career at Arla Foods, working on green logistics before moving into food safety and quality. Following this, she moved into commercial roles at Nestlé and later, Quorn Foods, at which she entered a dedicated sustainability position in 2019, gaining expertise in creating and executing a roadmap to create a positive impact on people and the planet.
Tabatha aims to help Ellers Farm demonstrate its commitment and dedication to being an ethical business from day one of its journey, with hopes of becoming a Certified B Corp® before the end of 2022.
Speaking of their Pending B Corp® status, Tabatha commented: “We believe that business can absolutely be a force for good not only in our economies, but for people and the planet too. That’s why we’re so proud to announce our Pending B Corporation® status. B Corp certification is unique in that it’s the only comprehensive, holistic measure of sustainability that exists today. It’s a rigorous assessment and won’t be an easy certification to achieve, but we are really excited to take our first step in the process.
“We hope that as a start-up business, this is seen as our first signal that we are starting as we mean to go on. We look forward to learning from and supporting other businesses within this community.”
Ellers Farm has also committed to being carbon neutral from day one, with the understanding that taking positive action against climate change is rapidly becoming an essential requirement for businesses of all sizes to thrive. Ellers Farm has joined hundreds of UK businesses by committing to the SME Climate Commitment. They have committed to cut carbon emissions in half before 2030 and achieve net zero emissions before 2050.
When in full production, the distillery will initially be able to produce 1.2 million bottles per annum, and will be one of the largest distilleries in Yorkshire. Located a stone’s throw away from Yorkshire’s food capital, Malton, it will offer sustainable and diversified employment for the region, with the distillery’s visitor centre enhancing the visitor experience as an aligned tourism asset.
