Sustainability
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Simpsons Malt and is a key part of our company purpose: “To sustainably grow our family business for future generations”
As a Certified B Corporation, the word ‘sustainability’ means many things. It’s about investing in our own operations to reduce Scope 1 & 2 emissions and engaging closely with our directly contracted growers and supply chain partners to tackle our Scope 3 emissions.
This links to our headline sustainability goals: net zero Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutral malting barley and distilling wheat production by 2030.
But sustainability also means being on a secure financial footing, supporting and developing our workforce and giving back to the communities around our sites. For us, it’s all about doing the right thing and always with a long-term view.
Led by B Corp
Our approach to sustainability has been shaped by the B Corp assessment framework.
Certified B Corporations are companies that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, with a business-wide assessment across five areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers.
We became a Certified B Corporation in November 2021 with a score of 89.6 and were recertified in 2025 with an increased score of 130.7, highlighting our commitment to continuous improvement and B Corp as a movement.
Being a B Corp also means we’ve made a legal commitment to prioritise people and the planet in every decision we make and our company articles of association reflect that.
Sustainability Report
As part of our B Corp certification, each year we are required to publish a Sustainability Report.
Our annual report documents progress being made on our sustainability journey across the five pillars of the B Corp assessment framework, as well as important background to our fifth-generation, family business and how we operate.
Scope 1 & 2 emissions
Although being a B Corp means we take a whole business view on sustainability, our headline sustainability goals – net zero Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutral malting barley and distilling wheat production by 2030 – focus on the environmental side.
In recent years, we've made major investments that have reduced carbon emissions across our sites, logistics and processes.
The results of these investments have been significant and you can read about them below:
Case studies
Scope 3 emissions
In having agricultural merchanting division McCreath Simpson & Prentice (MSP) integrated within our business, it gives us a unique opportunity to influence sustainability at farm level.
We work directly with hundreds of contracted malting barley and distilling wheat growers and members of our sustainability team are always on-hand to assist them through audits and help them to meet sustainability objectives that are contract requirements for specific Growers Groups.
Supporting FSA verification
For many years, we have worked alongside our contracted growers to help them attain verification to SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA).
FSA is a globally-recognised and highly effective standard that helps farmers and food and drink companies around the world produce, sell and source more sustainably grown agricultural products.
Unlike other verifications, which only consider feed and food safety, FSA offers a comprehensive, industry-wide assessment with three levels of FSA performance: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
We have two Farm Management Groups (FMGs): one for malting barley with 678 growers and the other for distilling wheat with 126 growers. During the most recent audits of both groups, they each achieved 100% FSA Gold – the highest performance level under a globally recognised framework.
This ensures that we are sourcing sustainable wheat and malting barley from our contracted growers for production at both of our malting sites.
Case studies
Growers Groups
Our Growers Groups – where directly contracted malting barley or distilling wheat is allocated to a specific end user customer – are also providing an important platform in our goal to build a more resilient and sustainable supply chain.
Within these Growers Groups, end users can specify carbon reduction initiatives that are important to them (eg. cover cropping, low-carbon fertiliser use) and, through McCreath Simpson & Prentice, we can supply the required inputs.
By engaging with a Growers Group sustainability initiative, growers are rewarded financially for their contribution towards reducing the carbon footprint of that year’s malting barley or distilling wheat crop for the specified end user customer.
Care for our communities
As a family business with deep local roots, we’re proud to support the communities surrounding our sites across the UK.
Through both the Simpsons Malt and McCreath Simpson & Prentice brands, we provide funding and support to local schools, sports clubs, charities, events and community groups. We also regularly support events hosted by long-standing industry customers of ours as a note of appreciation for their years of custom.
Additionally, we have a charitable arm called The Simpson McCreath Trust (registered no. 1126805). It was established by Simon Simpson OBE and David McCreath OBE in 2008, with the current four trustees being two members of the Simpson family (Richard Simpson and his eldest daughter, Eva) and two members of the McCreath family (Tim McCreath and his daughter, Abigail).
In total, we’re committed to donating more than 1% of the company’s annual profits to good causes each year, which is all part of a long-standing commitment to make a positive impact beyond our business.
