The industrial bakery sector faces a pressing challenge: the European baking industry generates more than 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, much of it tied to wheat and flour production.

In the UK alone, industrial bakeries consume around 2,000 GWh of energy annually, producing roughly 570,000 tonnes of CO₂. Against that backdrop, Wakefield-based equipment specialist Spooner has published a free practical guide to help industrial bakers cut their carbon footprint.

Decarbonising Your Bakery: A Practical Guide draws on contributions from Baker & Baker, Siemens, the Federation of Bakers and American Pan, alongside Spooner's own technical team. It maps the current state of the sector, examines what's holding bakeries back from net-zero progress and sets out the drivers, regulatory, commercial and operational, that are accelerating change.

Ian Thornham, Sales & Marketing Director at Spooner Industries, said the guide was a direct response to what the company was seeing across its customer base:

"We are seeing a clear shift towards decarbonising production and reducing environmental impact. This report addresses the industry's current challenges and provides practical guidance for meaningful change."

That shift is also evident in day-to-day enquiries. Andrew Stead, General Manager at SpoonerPlus, noted a marked increase in questions about energy reduction: "Our bakery clients are keen to understand what Spooner can provide, especially in terms of enhancing their existing equipment."

The guide covers the hybrid and electrified oven and prover systems being developed specifically for the sector, as well as the sustainability projects industrial bakeries are already implementing. It also addresses a less-discussed aspect of decarbonisation: resilience. As Technical Director Andrew Marson points out, bakeries need to maintain flexibility across product, grid, infrastructure and levy changes — not just optimise for today's conditions.

Founded in 1932, Spooner designs and manufactures provers, ovens, coolers, dryers, and heat recovery systems. The company says energy efficiency has been central to its engineering approach throughout, giving it a particular stake in helping the sector navigate what is arguably the most complex operational transition it has faced.

The guide is available free of charge at spooner-food.com