Nutrition firm to go carbon neutral with UCLan support

The protein lab ensures its new headquarters go green

A growing Blackpool business has committed to going carbon neutral, with support from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

The Protein Lab, which manufactures and delivers a range of nutritional supplements from its headquarters on the Fylde coast, approached UCLan’s ERDF-funded Making Carbon Work (MaCaW) project for advice on reducing and offsetting its carbon emissions. For company director James Wilson, MaCaW’s support allowed him to promote the environmental credentials of his growing company as it continues to export and grow internationally.

New headquarters leads to green opportunities

The growing company, which manufactures tablets, capsules and powders that can be used to improve health outcomes, has traded since 2013 and experienced strong growth in the last five years, particularly through exporting white and private label products to the European market. As a result, the firm was able to expand into a new factory next to Blackpool Airport in 2019, and as such was keen to the use the office move as a reason to reduce carbon emissions and environmental footprint in its manufacturing processes.

James said: “Manufacturing nutraceuticals tends to be a carbon heavy business, from operating large machinery through to distribution costs across the world. For us, we want to reduce that environmental impact and become as close to carbon neutral as we possibly can, offsetting any additional carbon that can’t be made renewable. “Moving into our new headquarters gave us the opportunity to start that operation from scratch and we had the new facility fitted with LED lighting, modern and energy efficient machinery and a modern air handling system all to reduce our energy consumption.”