An award-winning Pembrokeshire bakery has gained another accolade.

The family-run Tan Y Castell business, based in Narberth, is no stranger to recognition for its hand-made traditional Welsh baked goodies, which sell all over the UK

But to gain this latest award, the business has focused on its green credentials and has been acclaimed for its ‘ambitious’ carbon emissions reduction plan.

Tan Y Castell was one of eight businesses taking part in the three-month Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme Carbon Emission Reduction Programme

The scheme, partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, saw the businesses receive intensive support to help measure their baseline carbon emissions and develop emission reduction plans to achieve net zero by 2050.

This support included specialist workshops, a dedicated Masters student intern placed in each business and specialist coaching from leading sustainability experts.

The programme’s awards which followed saw Tan Y Castell win the 'best medium-size business carbon reduction plan' award.

Vanessa Mear, head of human resources at Tan Y Castell, said: "As a small business, we wanted to reduce carbon emissions but needed support to develop a realistic and detailed plan.

"This programme was hugely helpful and designed to help businesses like ours meet the challenge ahead.

"The workshops were helpful and informative and having a mentor working with us kept us focused on our goals.

"Most importantly, having an intern working with us was brilliant, as it provided us with additional capacity and the specialist knowledge we needed to benchmark our emissions."

The chair of the contest judges, Jonny Tench, said: "Inspired by the Well-Being of Future Generations of Wales Act, these businesses joined many others across Wales in making the nation a better place to live and work.

"Welsh Government has ambitious plans for Wales to become net zero by 2050, and businesses have a crucial role to play if we are to meet that ambition. 

"We were so impressed by the commitment and drive all businesses have shown in developing their ambitious carbon reduction plans.

"We wish to congratulate the deserving winners and recognise the achievements of all eight companies who completed the programme.

“We look forward to seeing how they progress against their plans and working with Business Wales to share the valuable lessons from this programme more widely."