Burns Pet Nutrition has announced a £1 million charity donation to celebrate its 25th year of trading. The leading pet food producer will be donating a quarter of its annual profits to a number of charitable organisations of part of its continued efforts to support community projects and animal charities.
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Burns Pet Nutrition, a family-run business, has been producing natural pet food for dogs, cats and rabbits since 1993. The Carmarthenshire-based company is led by Veterinary Surgeon, John Burns, who pioneered chemical free pet food when he used Vitamin E as a preservative over industry-norm chemicals.
Today, the multi-award-winning firm operates on a global scale with trade deals in place across Hong Kong and Europe. The company’s record charity donation will help a number of charitable animal welfare organisations including their charity partners Dogs for the Disabled and Forever Hounds Trust.
The announcement follows the recent news that Amazon UK has increased profits but paid reduced Corporation Tax and a report by the Charities Aid Foundation which found that FTSE 100 companies donate less than 1% on average to charities. That’s despite the fact that almost half of the British public would be more likely to buy from a company that donates money to charity.
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A significant portion of the donation (£800,000) will be invested into The Burns Pet Nutrition Foundation, a charity established in 2007 by John Burns to improve the lives of people and pets across the UK with an emphasis on tackling the effects of social isolation in rural west Wales. Six full-time staff members currently work for the third sector arm of the organisation on a variety of projects supporting disadvantaged groups in the community. The money will go towards developing and expanding the charity’s projects and activities.
One such project is The Burns Better Tomorrow Programme which last year helped 130 young people gain employability and life skills via Burns’ volunteer-led programme which provided them with work experience at the company’s factory, head office, market gardens, shops and warehouse. One participant on the Burns Better Tomorrow Programme hadn’t been able to leave his home for six months due to health problems but managed to successfully work within the business for three months and is now studying for his degree at Cardiff University.
Burns founder and Veterinary Surgeon, John Burns, is calling on companies of all sizes to support and engage with their local communities and charitable organisations as much as possible and says it’s integral to maintaining and securing customer trust:
“As the sole shareholder of Burns Pet Nutrition I am not beholden to investors seeking returns on their investments. I have decided that the company should be a force for good channelled through the work of our Community Team and The Burns Pet Nutrition Foundation. The charitable activities are not intended to be a one-off but are designed to grow and develop in the years to come. Our local community and the people within it are as equally important to me as the staff and customers we work with. I want Burns to not only be known for our natural pet food but also for establishing and maintaining a legacy of good causes in the community.”
