Having installed 50kWp of Solar PV on Carley’s Organic Foods’ new £1m zero carbon and zero waste factory, it was Tony’s pleasure to meet with Molly, pictured above, who had made the trip to Cornwall to see the fantastic new factory in person. As a nominee for Cornwall Business Leader of the Year at the upcoming Cornwall Business Awards, Tony’s exactly the kind of person Molly needs to connect with, to show that the Green Party aren’t out-of-the-loop when it comes to the economy. So what did he think?

“I was very impressed with Molly” revealed Tony, after the meeting and tour of the factory.  “She’s very level headed and pragmatic in her approach to climate policy.  Completely accepting that not everyone is engaged and wanting to find ways of encouraging, rather than forcing people to wise up to better environmental behaviour.  We also found common ground on many issues: for example, both of us feel that Solar farms are not the way ahead and that we’re likely to see them become a thing of the past.”

Molly then went on to host a phone-in on Radio Cornwall, and then it’s back to Brussels to keep the pressure up on EU policy-makers.

The factory of the future

Speaking of a greener economy, Carley’s themselves deserve a special mention for leaving no stone unturned, in their quest to create a truly carbon-friendly factory.  It really is a well thought out project from start to finish, with a biomass boiler to provide all the hot water they need; a huge solar installation, including covering the North-West-facing roofs to ensure they eek out every possible unit of solar energy; a battery storage system to smooth out the variable strength of the sunlight; and 500mm walls that contain 300mm of insulation. “We haven’t had to put the heating on since we opened in January” said the man behind the plan, owner, John Carley (pictured above right, with his granddaughter), as he gave Molly and Tony a tour of the factory.  “We’ve got next to no running costs now, which leaves us with very little risk in the business. And of course it’s the right thing to do when I consider what I’d have to say to my grandchildren!”

See how you could have a greener business

Carley’s Organic Foods’ new state-of-the-art green factory, near Truro