The Co-op Foundation – the charitable arm of the Co-op Group – has announced the partners for round three of its Carbon Innovation Fund (CIF) partners.
It has chosen seven organisations across the UK which are “developing innovative ways to grow the food we need without damaging precious UK peatlands”.
Peatlands are some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on earth, storing twice as much carbon as the world’s forests, and play a role in cooling the planet, supporting biodiversity and reducing flood risk.
But because peatland is also nutrient rich, it is sometimes drained to grow crops, or broken up to put the peat into compost. This degradation of peatland causes greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and destroys some of the UK’s most important ecosystems.
This is the third round of the Foundation’s three-year, £3.5m CIF partnership with the Group. The £1m from this round of grant-making adds to the £1.4m from round one, and £1.1m in round two. CIF is funded through the Group’s donations from the sale of compostable carrier bags in the UK, as well as the Foundation’s own funds.
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The Foundation says CIF is a way of “building sustainable communities” as part of its Building communities of the future together strategy.
It is also a part of Group’s effort to protect peatlands in the UK. In 2021 it was the first UK supermarket to completely end the sale of peat-based bagged compost across its stores. In 2023, Co-op announced a three-year partnership with the RSPB, donating a £1m from the sale of its compostable carrier bags to contribute to their peatland restoration projects.
The new partners are:
Algae Products International Ltd which has been awarded £150k to develop soil additives from algae, without using peat or emitting carbon. These soil additives could then be used for fertiliser, or even as alternatives to grazing for animals.
Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which has received £148,181 to develop pioneering sustainable techniques for growing food crops on peat soils. By growing on peatland that is more saturated with water, they hope to reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst maintaining economically viable food production.
Tagsa Uibhist which has received £149,499 to support the development of a more local food system on Uist in the Outer Hebrides in a way that will protect the peatland in the area. The goal is to alleviate food insecurity and protect peatlands and the fragile Western Isles ecosystem.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust which has received £81,831 to work with farmers to develop action plans on how to maintain or improve their farm’s income and calorie output, while delivering lowland peatland restoration and sustainable farming.
Wildlife Trust BCN which has received £150k to test new ways to sow, manage and monitor crops sustainably on peatlands and test their suitability as food for livestock. It hopes to demonstrate wet farming techniques that can be scaled up if needed, all while protecting peat soils.
Criw Compostio, based in Machynlleth, Wales, which has received £122,957 for its three-year project which looks to de-mystify food waste management, regulation and processing and create a unique peat-free compost for the community.
Rhyze Mushrooms Co-op CIC which has received £148,200 to develop compost using worms that is easily replicable and at a large enough scale to be used on farms. This method would make it possible for market gardens to produce their own high-quality peat-free compost to grow vegetables.
“We are delighted beyond words to have been awarded the Carbon Innovation Fund from Co-op and the Co-op Foundation,” said Alex Mackenzie, local food development manager at Tagsa Uibhist. “As a community-based charity whose aim is to promote health and wellbeing in Uist, Tagsa Uibhist are deeply concerned that many families in our island communities cannot afford basic food items to keep them healthy and well.
“With food insecurity on the rise, this amazing fund will help us transform our local food system so that it works for people and the planet, ensuring sustainable local produce is both accessible and affordable to all without damaging our beautiful yet fragile Western Isles eco-system.”
The team at Criw Compostio said: “Thank you, CIF, we squealed with joy when we heard we’d been chosen as a partner. Our diverse team of enthusiastic volunteers and experts are so excited to ramp up our research and get proper nerdy and mucky transforming waste into a credible alternative to peat in potting composts. Thanks for helping us in our mission to protect peatlands and to explore and celebrate waste-based composts.”
