Sustainability at Leach Pottery
Leach Pottery is committed to making a real difference to create a sustainable future through research, investing in technologies and taking simple steps to reduce our environmental impact. Here are just a few projects we have undertaken
Capital Project
Our Capital Project will transform Leach Pottery and greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the site. A new carbon neutral building, PV, heat pumps and restoration of historical buildings will all help in our journey to becoming carbon neutral.
Lifecycle of our pottery
The Leach Pottery commissioned research to establish the environmental impact of our Standard Ware.
The researchers used 18 different measurements to establish the impact of a single Standard Ware mug (defined as one kilo) through its journey from extracting the clay through its design, manufacture, use and ultimately its disposal.
Low carbon fuel for kilns
We are working with a social enterprise Planet A Solutions who are helping us identify different fuel options that could replace natural gas in our reduction kilns.
Our supply chains
Leach Pottery commissioned a report from Exeter University ‘Considering the sustainability of pottery and associated materials’ .
This paper looked at the supply chain for our materials and what improvements could be made in the studio to reduce our environmental impact.
Carbon net zero target
Initial research in 2020 around our site including a ‘smart energy saving’ and ‘carbon reduction report’has led to the Capital Project where we will remove natural gas as our main source of heating and make our buildings more efficient to run.
Postage and packaging
The Leach Pottery uses sustainable and recyclable materials in its packaging. We use cardboard boxes and brown paper bags, and our packaging includes expandable die-cut craft paper with a tissue interleaf system to wrap and pack pots.
We also took the decision to offer UK delivery only. You can read more about our sustainable postage here.