Sustainability Policy
at Cakes by Marie-Clare
I am passionate about ensuring that both my daily life and my business are as sustainable as they can be. I am continually looking for ways to improve my eco-credentials and reduce my carbon footprint. I want to show you that you can have a delicious gorgeous luxury cake whilst not compromising on sustainable ethics.
Ingredients
I do my best to ensure that my ingredients are responsibly sourced, local where possible, with an emphasis on regeneration, low fuel miles and organic practices. At times there may be factors beyond my control which prevent me from doing this e.g. the supplier is out of stock of a specific product. In this case I will look to source a similar alternative that is as sustainable as I can find.
I use seasonal flowers. I choose to press the majority of my flowers which preserves them for about 6 months, this allows me to use them throughout the winter months rather than importing flowers from warmer climates when they are not available in the UK.
I buy the majority of my fruit fillings when they are in season, choosing to freeze them to allow me to use them when they are out of season. The exception to this are the lemons I use in my lemon cream and lemon cake, which can't be grown in the UK. In this case I ensure that I buy organic lemons.
Food Wastage
I use cake strips to minimise off cuts when levelling my cakes and ensure that nothing is thrown away finding alternative uses for any leftovers. I ensure that I only make the amount of fillings or buttercream that I require for each cake, but any lefts overs are either frozen for later use or made into cookies.
Non consumables
I try to ensure that all the non-consumables used for the cake e.g. bamboo dowels, cocktail sticks, cake boxes, are recyclable. I use reusable piping bags, food cloths and food bags.
I avoid single use plastic, opting for products that use recyclable, home compostable or biodegradable packaging. On the rare occasion that this is unavoidable, I ensure that I recycle the plastic through terracycle who recycle the majority of single use plastics. Alternatively, I look for more sustainable alternatives or buy in bulk to minimise packaging.
My branding stickers are made from recycled material and are fully compostable/recyclable.
Energy Use
My electricity is supplied by Octopus Energy who provide 100% renewable energy. I use as little water as possible when washing and cleaning. Cleaning mindfully can significantly reduce water waste.
I bake my cakes in tall cake tins which allows me to fit more cake tins in my oven at one given time. This allows me to reduce my energy consumption by reducing the amount of time I need to use my oven.
Cleaning Products
I use eco-friendly products such as Faith refillable washing up liquid, Smol dishwasher tablets and Minimal cleaning product which reduce plastic packaging and don’t pollute the water to the same degree as more stringent cleaning chemicals.
Future goals
My aim for the coming year is;
- To continue to use environmentally conscious companies for my ingredients;
- Look for alternative cake drums to use for my cakes which are easier for clients to recycle;
- Grow more of my own edible flowers organically in my garden thereby reducing delivery mileage.
Cakes by Marie-Clare - Sustainability Policy - November 2024