Food and Environmental Certification Schemes
This section gives information on the food assurance and environmental schemes used by businesses on the website. You can search the website for businesses in any particular scheme through the advanced search in the 'buy local' section.
The Soil Association
The Soil Association organic logo indicates that food has been produced and processed to strict animal welfare and environmental standards. Organic agriculture and processing is based on a number of principles and ideas.
For more information please go to www.soilassociation.org
Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd
Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd is one of a number of organic certification bodies accredited by Defra and is approved to inspect organic production and processing in the UK.
For more information please go to www.organicfarmers.org.uk
Freedom Food
Freedom Food is the RSPCA's farm assurance and food labelling scheme, dedicated to improving welfare standards for the one billion farm animals reared for food each year in the UK.
For more information please go to www.freedomfood.org.uk
Assured Food Standards (AFS)
Assured Food Standards (AFS) is an independent organisation set up to manage the Red Tractor mark. AFS is owned by the food supply industry and includes interests such as the National Farmers' Union, the Meat & Livestock Commission, Dairy UK and the British Retail Consortium.
Red Tractor schemes include: Assured Combinable Crops Scheme (ACCS); Assured Produce (AP); Assured Chicken Production (ACP); Assured British Pigs (ABP); Assured Dairy Farms (ADF); Assured British Meat (ABM)
For more information please go to www.redtractor.org.uk
The Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council certifies forests and woods that are managed to ensure long term timber supplies while protecting the environment and the lives of forest-dependent people. Wood or wood products carrying this logo are sourced from a recognised Forest Stewardship Council source.
For more information please go to www.fsc-uk.org
The Wholesome Food Association
The Wholesome Food Association is a network of growers, processors, suppliers and distributors of authentic, locally-grown, wholesome food. They provide a low-cost labelling scheme for marketing wholesome, locally grown food, without the expense and complications of 'organic' certification.
For more information please go to www.wholesome-food.org.uk
LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming)
LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) is an assurance scheme based on national and global standard assurance schemes within the agricultural industry. It is the only scheme in existence that covers the whole farm ESA does too. Risks to the environment are kept to a minimum, while environmental benefits are maximised. LEAF assists farmers to create a strategy for farming to conserve and enhance the environment.
For more information please go to www.leafuk.org/leafuk
The Green Tourism Business Scheme
The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the leading sustainable tourism certification scheme in the UK, with over 1400 members. Businesses opting to join are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas, like energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more.
For more information please go www.green-business.co.uk/index.asp
Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF)
Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF) is the regional food group for the West Midlands. Its goals are to make locally produced, quality food available to a wider public, to raise consumer awareness of our regional strengths and to provide sustainable business opportunities to our local food economy.
For more information please go to www.heff.co.uk
Shropshire Hills Sustainable Business Scheme
The Shropshire Hills Sustainable Business Scheme aims to encourage businesses and their customers to become more sustainable. Accredited businesses will be allowed controlled use of the Shropshire Hills 'buy local- be sustainable' stamp. This means businesses are committed to: Reducing our impact on the environment, Benefitting wildlife and landscape; Involving local people and visitors, Supporting the local economy and participating in a network of like minded businesses
Government schemes under the Rural Development Programme
These 'agri-environment' and woodland schemes exist primarily to provide grants to land managers for conservation and environmental protection. Little information on these schemes has so far filtered through to customers, and this website highlights producers in the schemes to help show how sympathetic farming and food production maintains our landscape.
The Environmental Stewardship Scheme for farmers has a number of strands:
Entry Level Stewardship (ELS)
The aim is to encourage a large number of farmers across a wide area of farmland to deliver simple yet effective environmental management. Payments are made to farmers for tasks such as hedgerow management, stone wall maintenance, low input grassland, buffer strips, and arable options.
For more information please go to http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/es/els/default.aspx
Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS)
The aim is to encourage a large number of organic farmers across a wide area of farmland to deliver simple yet effective environmental management. Similar to Entry Level Scheme but recognises the greater environmental benefit that organic farming systems deliver. The land to be entered into the scheme must be farmed organically and registered with an approved Organic Inspection Body before an application to OELS is made.
For more information please go to http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/es/oels/default.aspx
Higher Level Stewardship (HLS)
The aim is to deliver significant environmental benefits in high priority situations and areas with more complex environmental management where land managers need advice and support. Applications require a detailed Farm Environmental Plan (FEP) and are assessed against environmental priorities specific to the local area.
For more information please go to www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/es/hls/default.aspx
Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) (Lower & Higher tiers)
The Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme was introduced in 1987 to offer incentives to encourage farmers to adopt agricultural practices which would safeguard and enhance parts of the country of particularly high landscape, wildlife or historic value. Many farms locally are still in the scheme, though it is being superseded by the Environmental Stewardship schemes.For more information please go to http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/closedschemes/esa/default.aspx
Countryside Stewardship Scheme
Also now being superseded by the Environmental Stewardship Scheme, Countryside Stewardship offered grants outside ESAs to improve the natural beauty and diversity of the countryside, enhance, restore and re-create targeted landscapes, their wildlife habitats and historical features, and to improve opportunities for public access.
For more information please go to http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/closedschemes/css/default.aspx
English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS)
The English Woodland Grant Scheme is the Forestry Commission's suite of grants designed to develop the co-ordinated delivery of public benefits from England's woodlands. The aims are to sustain and increase the public benefits given by existing woodlands and help create new woodlands to deliver additional public benefit.
For more information please go to www.forestry.gov.uk/ewgs
