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The Scottish Borders’ biggest food processing plant has undertaken a series of decarbonisation projects to help the firm innovate, improve and reduce its environmental impact. 

And as part of Scotland’s Innovation Week, we are focussing on Farne Salmon’s, efforts to reduce their carbon footprint…

Farne Salmon started trading in 1982 with a staff of six.

Forty-three years later, Farne is the biggest private sector employer in the Scottish Borders with a base in Duns and a core workforce of around 550 people.

As well as their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, they have just won ‘Employer of the Year Award at Scotland Food and Drink 2025.

Background

Farne Salmon & Trout Ltd were acquired in 2004 by French owned Labeyrie Fine Foods who themselves were established in south-west France in 1946.

The group consists of seven brands and employs 4,600 staff internationally across 17 sites. 
Farne Salmon is one of the UK’s largest smoked salmon processing plants and is a major player in the food manufacturing industry, particularly seafood processing.

They have been recognised for their commitment to Fair Work as a Real Living Wage Accredited employer with the Living Wage Foundation.

 

 

More recently, Farne won the ‘Environmental Impact Award’, which was presented at the Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce annual dinner

Decarbonisation work

Through our support, Farne has been able to undertake a series of carbon and cost reduction projects, accelerating their transition to net zero. 

The support from us enabled the following projects, unlocking significant inward investment:

• In 2023/24, the site installed voltage optimisation which reduced energy waste on site by 7% and reduced energy costs. 
• In the same year, an investigation into heat recovery from refrigeration to reduce fossil fuel use took place. The study identified opportunities but highlighted a need to upgrade refrigeration first – leading to renewed focus on minimising environmental impacts from refrigeration. 
• Farne Salmon received support from Marine Scotland to replace half of their old refrigeration equipment leading to a huge saving in energy, cost and removing outdated gases from the site seven years earlier than planned.
• Farne retro-fitted their packaging system in 2024/25 to enable use of ocean recycled packaging and recyclable film. This allowed a transition to more sustainable packaging while also reusing existing equipment rather than replacement – demonstrating circular economy.
• During 2024/25, Farne sourced and installed a roof mount solar array on the roof of secondary building 

Waste plastic project

The impact from the waste plastic project has been integral to the Farne’s journey to a Net Zero transition.

Benefits have included:

•    Reducing carbon in packing of a major contract from 292 to 65 CO2 tonnes per year
•    Delivering a total carbon reduction of 485 tonnes CO2e per year
•    Reducing 4.2 million plastic packages every year
•    Supporting a circular economy approach to business adaption to client and consumer needs, aligned with a Just Transition to Net Zero

What is next?

Following the successful completion of these projects, Farne Salmon has continued to progress further projects:

•    They are currently installing two electric kilns for cooking, which if successful could unlock converting all existing kilns from steam-based into renewable electricity. This would be a considerable reduction in their carbon footprint and the end for kerosene use on site.  
•    Farne is looking to upgrade the remaining refrigeration equipment on site to the latest low carbon standards.

This will significantly save energy and CO2 while enabling future heat recovery.

Kevin Dickson, Energy Development Specialist from SOSE, who has supported Farne with a series of its decarbonisation projects, said:

“Farne Salmon have demonstrated a genuine commitment to reducing the energy usage and environmental impact of the processing site while supporting vital employment in the South of Scotland."

“They have combined established technologies and innovation and made the best use of the Scottish supply chain with home-grown partners such as Star Refrigeration and Munro Wilson delivering vital elements of their transition towards Net Zero.”

Angus Forbes, Environment and Projects Manager from Farne Salmon said:

‘’The help we have received from South of Scotland Enterprise has generated significant benefits to us on our journey towards achieving our Net Zero goals. 

“The financial assistance has been extremely important, but the advice and technical guidance we have received from the specialist teams at SOSE has been invaluable.’’