Jonathan is a Site Director at Pilgrim’s Europe with broad functional experience from the chilled foods industry, including experience in both private and plc businesses manufacturing private label and branded products.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Jonathan started his career in the poultry sector and has worked in both the food to go and prepared foods sectors including Greencore, Wm Morrison, and now Pilgrim’s Europe, formerly Moy Park. Pilgrim’s goal is to provide chicken farmed with care, and they are committed to safe and sustainable farming and production practices.  

Pilgrim’s Europe operates in multiple locations across Greater Lincolnshire in chicken and pork farming and processing as well as in meals and snacking for the retail and food service sectors, both as a private label supplier alongside brands such as Richmond and Fridge Raiders.  Pilgrim’s pride themselves on being the leading manufacturer of higher welfare chicken alongside organic and free-range options and their integrated operation includes feed mills, enabling the supply to farmers of high-quality animal feed. 

Jonathan is a Site Director at Pilgrim’s Europe and joins the UK Food Valley team to talk about the importance of water to the business and sustainable growth plans.

UKFV: Commercial access to water supplies for food processing is a critical factor for the industry and directly influences investment, expansion, and location decisions. What needs to change both locally and nationally to ensure food processors can scale and grow their businesses?

JO: For the UK food industry, water isn’t just a utility -it’s a strategic resource. From hygiene and processing to product safety, water availability directly shapes where companies invest, how they scale, and the number of jobs they can support. When supply becomes uncertain, growth stalls, and with it, national food security is at risk.

To unlock sustainable expansion, several changes are needed:

Firstly, long‑term water planning must reflect industrial reality and the needs of users. Food processors need clarity on water availability over the next decade or two, and not just for short planning cycles. Regional water‑resource plans must properly account for industrial demand so businesses can commit to long term investments with confidence.

Secondly, make it easier to access sustainable alternative and recycled water sources. Many sites can reduce pressure on local networks through boreholes, rainwater capture, and on‑site recycling provided approval frameworks are faster and clearer. National standards, structure and incentives would significantly support companies to adopt circular water systems at scale.

Thirdly, streamline the bureaucracy to achieve faster, more predictable permitting.  Water‑related permits can take too long, creating uncertainty for time‑critical capital investments. Streamlined permitting would retain the necessary safeguards whilst accelerating innovation and growth across the sector.

The regional economy and society would both benefit from increased support for water‑efficiency innovation.  Further progress requires advanced technology and this innovation can be accelerated by government. Targeted education, grants and incentives for high‑impact water‑saving equipment would enable processors to increase output without increasing overall consumption.

And finally, recognition of food production as a critical water user.  Food manufacturing underpins local jobs as well as national food security, and water allocation and drought planning must explicitly protect essential food production capacity.

If the UK wants a truly resilient domestic food system, local and national government planning must do everything it can to ensure reliable long‑term access to water -supported by modern infrastructure and agile regulation, so that processors can invest, grow, and protect food security.

UKFV: Pilgrim’s Europe has undertaken a number of water‑efficiency projects to reduce water consumption in production processes. Tell us about this.

JO: At Pilgrim’s Europe, we view water stewardship as fundamental to sustainable growth and to the resilience of the UK food system. As a food business, it's in our nature to be very efficient with all the resources we use. Over recent years, we’ve delivered a series of targeted initiatives that have driven meaningful reductions in water use across our operations – from technology investment to continuously improving practical working methods.

We’ve invested in colleague engagement, ensuring teams understand how their decisions impact water efficiency. Regular hourly, shift, daily and weekly reviews keep performance front and centre and allow rapid intervention when patterns change.

We’ve also upgraded our waste‑removal systems to eliminate the need for water in by‑product handling. Each investment is assessed for its potential impact on water usage and waste generation.

And extensive sub‑metering gives us detailed visibility through every water‑critical stage of processing. Automated alerts notify colleagues whenever usage exceeds expectations, allowing immediate corrective action.

These initiatives are delivering real measurable reductions. By combining technology, data and colleague ownership, Pilgrim’s Europe continues to strengthen its environmental performance and support a more resilient UK food system.

Pilgrim’s Europe has partnered with sustainable water treatment specialist PureTec Separations to significantly cut mains water use across its operations, saving more than 26 million litres in just three years. The collaboration centred on recovering and reusing water captured during the softener regeneration process at Pilgrim’s Europe’s site in Spalding. Working closely with the site team, PureTec developed a low-cost diversion system to collect and store this water for reuse in livestock lorry washdown.

UKFV: Looking ahead, how can the UK food processing industry continue to improve water efficiency over the next five years?

JO: There are several high‑impact opportunities for the industry. The industry needs to shift from measuring usage to predicting inefficiency. AI‑enabled analytics can identify leaks, detect anomalies and help teams intervene early.  As businesses invest there are opportunities to redesign water‑intensive processes through dry technologies, low‑water Clean-In-Place systems, and alternative reuse or hygiene methods.

People are often the biggest lever for efficiency. By empowering teams with clear metrics, training and real‑time insights, significant improvements can be achieved quickly. There may even be opportunities for agrifood businesses within the same catchment to join forces on shared water abstraction, recycling networks or infrastructure supported by close collaboration with water companies and regulatory authorities to prioritise this approach to business infrastructure investment through the planning process.

UKFV: So, if you had one message for government about planning for future water demand in the food processing sector, what would it be?

JO:  Without a coherent / cohesive water strategy, there is no food security. To secure the future of UK food production, government must treat water availability for food processors as a strategic national priority, embedding long‑term, industry‑informed water planning that provides certainty, supports investment, and ensures essential food manufacturing has the resilient, predictable water access it needs to support the national food security and economic growth agenda.

Jonathan responded to questions raised by the UKFV team, managed and funded by Lincolnshire County Council.