When Lord Rooker, the agriculture minister, officially opens Robert Wiseman Dairies’ latest plant on September 3, he will, its owner believes, be recognising a new standard for environmental performance in the milk industry.

When planning the £100m ($184m) dairy in Bridgwater, Somerset, Wiseman decided that its customers – mainly the large supermarket groups – would not just want quality and reliability from the new plant but would also look at its environmental credentials.