A morning slice of toast and jam could look a lot greener in the future as one of Scotland’s leading food brands has joined forces with ScottishPower to explore ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

Dating back to 1873, Carluke-based R&W Scott is renowned for its premium jams, added value chocolate coatings, bespoke confectionery fillings, and speciality soft icing. The company provides core ingredients and finished product lines for some of the UK’s best-known brands and major food retailers.

It is committed to being at the forefront of innovation and will now work with ScottishPower to consider the potential of using green hydrogen and renewable electricity to take its operations into a clean energy future.

ScottishPower is developing a first-of-a-kind project at Whitelee windfarm, which will see green hydrogen produced as a clean gas, alongside the use of wind, solar and battery technologies. The green hydrogen produced can then be distributed for use in industrial settings as well as transportation applications.

Moving to a greener operating model will not only help R&W Scott reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and boost its commitment to the environment and sustainability, it could also help the company stabilise future energy costs by allowing it to move away from the volatile gas market, which has seen prices reach unprecedented levels in recent months.

John Easton, Executive Chairman at R&W Scott said: “While our dedication to creating quality food products hasn’t changed over the last 149 years, we’ve always continued to evolve, innovate, and embrace new technologies throughout our history. We’re really excited to be working with ScottishPower to look at how we can green our operations and use Scotland’s abundance of natural resources to power our ambitions and ensure that R&W Scott can continue to fly the flag for the Scottish food and drink industry for many more years to come.”

Barry Carruthers, Hydrogen Director at ScottishPower, said: “It’s great to be working with R&W Scott to consider how the company can contribute to Scotland’s Net Zero future through creating bespoke green solutions that meet its energy needs. Whether it’s green hydrogen to power industrial processes, renewable electricity to support operations, electric vehicle charging or solar panels, we can really make a difference and support businesses of all sizes – whether they’ve been around as long as R&W Scott or not – to do the same.”