Pictured: Martyn Emson, owner, the Ludlow Traditional Smokehouse 

Having undergone an extensive environmental audit and demonstrated legal compliance, outstanding environmental practices and an ambition to improve further, Ludlow Traditional Smokehouse, which provides the finest quality smoked foods, with a bespoke service for local meats and cheeses, has attained Green Achiever scheme silver status. 

Developed by environmental consultancy E4environment and promoted in this instance through a pilot project with HEART OF ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF), the Green Achiever scheme operates on four levels. Businesses or organisations will start by registering free at www.greenachiever.co.uk , complete a short questionnaire to outline its responsibilities and receive a listing in the Green Achiever online business directory. After Registration members can decide to progress to self-assessment or to go straight to silver and then onto gold. 

Companies participating in the HEFF project receive a regulatory health check report, a bespoke declaration of environmental commitment, a 12-month improvement programme, fortnightly information newsletters and on-going environmental advice and support.  Normally costing £112 + VAT for self-assessment and between £306 and £612 + VAT and expenses for silver; participation in the pilot project is free of charge to a limited number of HEFF members and includes E4environment's consultancy fees and Green Achiever membership for a year.

Martyn Emsen, owner of the Ludlow Traditional Smokehouse, said: "Our process from start to finish is imaginative and green. The brine cure is used as a weed killer once the process has been completed. The wooden boxes that the fish is delivered in are chipped and used to light the kilns. Our drying room is designed to incorporate ceiling and wall shutters to create natural free airflow, with no need for any artificial sources of power. The kiln itself is powered by a good old fashioned match, using the traditional draught method, with no electric fans. There are no timers, just the skill of the artisan kiln-master. Wood shavings are collected from a local sawmill, recycling his natural waste product. All refrigeration is attached to a heat reclaiming unit which warms the packing room. During the rebuild, all walls and cavities were filled with natural wool insulation. No polystyrene is used in the packaging for the online shop. We use only natural wool insulated parcels, which uses less fridge packs. Customers are encouraged to post back or re-use all outer packaging wherever possible."

Deborah Cairns, operations manager at E4environment with specific responsibility for the Green Achiever scheme, said: "Ludlow Traditional Smokehouse is one of the first businesses to take part in the project when it was launched towards the end of 2011. It is proving to be popular and the response from other HEFF members involved so far is that the easy-to-understand, administratively-light and very positive Green Achiever experience is already providing substantial benefits to their businesses."