There’s a certain feeling to early summer on the farm. The peppermint is growing fast, the days are long and everything should be settling into a familiar rhythm.
But if you work closely with the land, you notice when that rhythm starts to change.
This year, World Environment Day is focused on climate action - on the signals the planet is sending and how we respond to them. It’s no longer a distant idea; it’s something happening now, through rising heat, disrupted weather and changing ecosystems.
At Summerdown, it's really clear in our day to day farming that the climate is changing.
When you see it in your own fields
We’ve been growing and distilling our own Black Mitcham peppermint here in Hampshire for decades.
In that time, one change has become increasingly clear: summers are getting hotter and drier too.
Peppermint needs the right balance of warmth and rainfall. When the heat builds and the rain doesn’t come, it makes growing more difficult and less predictable. It’s something we’re having to think about more and more as a regenerative farm, season by season.
And it’s not just in the fields.
Hotter weather also makes transporting our chocolates more of a challenge. Keeping them in perfect condition during heatwaves takes more care than it once did. It’s a small but very real example of how climate change touches every part of what we do, from growing to making to delivering.
Our three pillars, guiding the way forward
Our response to all of this is shaped by our three sustainability pillars- the principles that guide how we farm, make and think:
1. Connecting people with nature
Summerdown has always been about more than just products. We want people to feel closer to nature, whether that’s through what they taste, smell or experience when they visit the farm. Opening our doors, welcoming visitors and sharing what regenerative farming looks like in practice is a big part of that.
2. We’re proud to be carbon net neutral, but we know that’s not the end of the journey. We’re actively working to reduce our footprint further by exploring plastic-free, fully compostable packaging across our range by 2030, alongside a commitment to sourcing 100% sustainably produced ingredients. We’re also focused on building stronger, more transparent relationships with like-minded businesses throughout our supply chain.
3. Cultivating nature stewardship. At the heart of Summerdown is a commitment to caring for the land. That means focusing on soil health, biodiversity and long-term resilience. From planting wildflowers and supporting birdlife to keeping our soils as rich and full of life as possible, we’re always thinking about how to leave things better than we found them. Together, these pillars shape what sustainability looks like for us, not a separate initiative, but part of everyday life on a regenerative farm in Hampshire.
Always learning, always improving
We’re also working to better understand the full impact of what we do - including our Scope 3 emissions, which sit beyond our direct control but are just as important.
Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that sustainability is a journey. One that evolves as conditions change and as we learn more.
A quieter kind of climate action
The global message behind World Environment Day this year is urgent - climate action matters, and it matters now.
But action doesn’t always have to be loud.
Sometimes it looks like improving soil so it holds water better.
Or planting habitats that support more birdlife.
Or rethinking packaging so it leaves less behind.
Or simply noticing that summers are changing and deciding to do something about it.
For us, climate action starts with paying attention. Then responding carefully, thoughtfully and consistently over time.
Here on our patch of Hampshire, that’s exactly what we’ll keep doing.