As part of the Energy & Sustainability teams work with departments across the campus, “An Introduction to” is a case study series to highlight the responsible sourcing decisions being made across campus. 

Warwick Food Group and Warwick Conferencing have a new supply partner –Cotswold Gold - for their Rapeseed Oil (Canola Oil). From October 2024, the oil across campus, when frying chips, dressing salads, and baking dairy free cakes, will be locally sourced, cold pressed, and in carbon neutral packaging.  

Cold-pressed rapeseed oil is made without chemicals or heat, while refined rapeseed oil is extracted chemically using many processes. Making this change increases the vitamin E and is rich in omegas 3,6 and 9 whilst lower in cholesterol than the refined oil. 

Another consideration when changing supplier was the location of the farms, choosing to purchase a 100% British grown crop, which is processed and packaged on the same farm, lowers the carbon footprint of the product and gives us more visibility with the farming techniques - such as using crop rotation to maintain soil health and prevent soil erosion, growing wheat, and legume crops alongside the rapeseed to keep the soil nutrient rich. 

Working with Cotswold Gold brings a distribution benefit to the university also, as we can utilise their own vehicles for deliveries to campus, which lowers the carbon footprint of distribution as the drives are more direct and allows us to investigate the option for recycling packaging and waste oil through their waste streams. If this is possible, then the waste oil will be processed into biofuel, and used on the farm!