From Carbon Literacy to Business Transformation at Dunsters Farm
When sustainability becomes part of everyone’s job, real change happens.
That belief sits at the heart of Santosh Salunkhe’s work at Dunsters Farm, and it’s exactly what came through in his conversation on this Future Bites podcast episode .
🎧 Listen and watch our full podcast interview here
Santosh is the Transformation and Social Value Manager at Dunsters Farm, a wholesale food supplier serving around 2,000 schools across the north of England, with growing reach into hospitality, care, and events. Despite the name, Dunsters Farm is no longer a farm. What it has retained is a deep connection to food systems and their environmental impact.
Starting Without a Sustainability Playbook
Santosh did not begin his role with formal sustainability qualifications. He started as a PHD researcher, examining different parts of the business and identifying gaps where sustainability thinking was missing. As those gaps became clearer, so did the need for shared understanding across teams.
That’s what led him to join Future Green’s first Carbon Literacy Training for the Food and Drink Sector in early 2024.
Santosh and the rest of Cohort 1 during Future Green’s Carbon Literacy Training for the Food & Drink Sector
He was looking for something practical, focused, and immediately applicable. A short, certified programme that went beyond theory and helped translate climate knowledge into day-to-day decisions.
Turning Knowledge into Action Across Teams
Since completing the training, Santosh has delivered five internal carbon literacy cohorts, training around 20 colleagues across the business. Importantly, this wasn’t limited to sustainability or leadership roles.
Transport, warehouse teams, HR, procurement, sales and drivers were all included. Each session was adapted to the audience, with examples and data relevant to their daily work.
One standout example came from driver training. By combining emissions data with the drivers’ own expertise, Santosh created collaborative action plans focused on real operational change.
Simple shifts such as reducing engine idling and adjusting freezer usage helped teams see the link between behaviour, emissions, and cost.
Empowering teams across operations to lead on sustainability.
Tangible Results That Matter to Business
The impact of this approach has been significant.
Dunsters Farm has achieved:
- 70% reduction in plastic consumption
- 40% cost savings linked to plastic reduction
- 17% reduction in carbon emissions intensity across Scope 1 and 2
These changes did not come from a single large investment, but from systems thinking and small, coordinated actions across the organisation.
Santosh was clear that challenges still exist. Time pressure, operational demands, and funding can all slow progress. But early wins helped build momentum and trust.
Turning commitment into action. Waste reduction in practice at Dunsters Farm. (Image: Dunsters Farm)
Why Carbon Literacy Matters
For Santosh, carbon literacy is about more than awareness. It’s about equipping people to make informed decisions and future-proof the business.
Instead of focusing only on visible actions like recycling, teams learn to look upstream, question assumptions, and prioritise changes that deliver real impact.
Recognition Beyond Dunsters Farm
Santosh’s work has not gone unnoticed. In the past two years, he, and his team have received multiple national recognitions for leadership, innovation, and social value, including:
- Winner – Emerging Talent Gold Medal, Federation of Wholesale Distributors Gold Awards 2025
One of the most prestigious awards in the UK food and drink sector, recognising leadership in research, sustainability, and social value at Dunsters Farm. - Winner – Future Leader Award, Innovate UK KTP Awards 2024
Selected from over 800 eligible research projects across more than 100 UK universities. - Winner – “Changing the World” Award and Finalist – “Business Transformation” Award, Innovate UK KTP Awards 2025
Again selected from over 800 projects nationwide. - Highly Commended (2024) and Finalist (2025), Private Sector Leadership – Social Value Awards
Competing alongside organisations with £1bn+ turnover and over 4,000 employees.
These recognitions reflect not only individual leadership, but what’s possible when sustainability is embedded across an organisation.
Santosh at the KTP Awards 2025 – “Changing the World” Award 🏆
Looking Ahead
Next for Dunsters Farm is fleet renewal, alternative fuel exploration, and continued focus on driver behaviour, which Santosh estimates can influence 10–15% of fleet emissions. It’s another example of systems thinking in action.
For businesses unsure where to start, Santosh’s advice is simple: begin with carbon literacy.
If your organisation is ready to take the next step…
Carbon literacy is a powerful place to begin. It builds shared understanding,
supports better decision-making, and turns sustainability from a concept into everyday action. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to deepen impact across teams, training can help unlock practical change where it matters most.
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