Helping Castle MacLellan Foods employees save energy and money

The Partnerships team at Home Energy Scotland South West works with NHS Scotland’s Healthy Working Lives initiative to support employees with health, safety and wellbeing through their workplace.

Castle MacLellan Foods Ltd is a food producer based in Kirkcudbright in Dumfries & Galloway. Established for over 35 years, it is a major employer in the area. Many of the workforce are employed in production roles, making a high-quality range of patés.

The Healthy Working Lives team introduced Alison McKie, HR assistant for Castle MacLellan Foods Ltd, to the Home Energy Scotland South West team, who got in touch to explore how best to deliver appropriate and accessible workshops for their staff. Home Energy Scotland can adapt workshops to fit with different business types and needs, including the method of delivery (eg face-to-face, online, pop-up events) and any other considerations that can help to boost participation.

The Castle MacLellan workforce couldn’t all participate in one workshop at the same time, so we planned to take small groups through several sessions. A series of online workshops wasn’t right for these staff because they don’t use computers or laptops for work. An approach was agreed which included in person workshops, energy saving information packs for each staff member, and an invitation to receive ongoing advice and information from Home Energy Scotland.

Castle MacLellan’s HR department ensured that every member of staff was allocated a one hour time slot within their working day to participate in a workshop. They also provided a dedicated space on-site for the sessions to maximise uptake of the training. 

Delivering the workshop

In October 2022 the Home Energy Scotland Partnership team travelled to the Castle MacLellan Foods factory and delivered a total of nine 40-minute workshops on the theme of ‘save energy at  home’. To keep the sessions engaging and interactive the team included a top tips game and a quiz at the end of the workshop. Over 100 employees took part over the course of the day, gaining useful advice and information to help them reduce their energy usage and lower their energy bills. The success of these sessions led to a request from Castle MacLellan for further in person workshops to be delivered in 2023.

At the end of their workshop session, all attending employees were given Home Energy Scotland information packs with energy saving factsheets on a range of topics for the home including insulation, boilers, saving water, and behavioural changes to help reduce energy usage and lower energy bills. Some of these behaviours are also applicable to the workplace and when put in place can help businesses to reduce their energy bills too. The pack also included an invitation to keep in touch with Home Energy Scotland for ongoing advice, information and support.

The Partnerships team received very positive feedback on the service provided. We look forward to future visits to Castle MacLellan to share further carbon reduction and money saving advice and support more employees.

If this example of successful employee engagement appeals to you, and you think your staff could benefit from our support, get in touch today.

Find out more about our free, interactive employee engagement services, including workshops and e-learning, to help your colleagues save energy and reduce their bills.