Nutlands grows and processes hazelnuts in Makarewa, Southland. Owner, Ivan Burney, claims that his operation is the southern-most grower of hazelnuts in the world. Ivan and his wife Dot produce a range of hazelnut products such as plain roasted hazelnuts, dukkah, chutneys, chocolate hazelnut spread and coated hazelnuts.  

For Ivan, sustainability means ‘closing the loop’ of waste by aiming to re-use as much as possible. For example, Nutlands produces hazelnut shells as a by-product of their core business. “For every kilogram of nuts, we get half a kilogram of shells and half a kilogram of kernels. The shells we are using to make into pellets for pellet fires,” says Ivan.

Ivan believes this thinking can be easily transferred and applied to other businesses. “I think that other businesses could look at what we’re doing and if they looked in their own backyard, I think they’d find that there is a lot of stuff there that is recyclable,” he explains.

Nutlands is a company that grows and processes hazelnuts in Makarewa, Southland. This operation is the southern most grower of hazelnuts in the world, says Nutlands owner, Ivan Burney. They grow 2000 hazelnut trees on 10 acres of land, with all of the processing undertaken on-site in a registered kitchen,

Ivan and his wife Dot produce a range of hazelnut products including coated hazelnuts, plain roasted hazelnuts, chocolate hazelnut spread, dukkah and chutneys (apricot and hazelnut flavoured). Most of these products are sold locally through the Southern Farmer’s Market and at 3 other outlets that Nutlands supplies within Southland. 

They began this enterprise due to a world shortage of hazelnuts, says Ivan. In 1998 New Zealand imported between 2 and 3 tonnes of hazelnuts, with very few being grown within New Zealand. Ivan and Dot are the sole owner-operators of Nutlands and both also work part time in other jobs to supplement the income earned in the hazelnut trade.

What sustainability means at Nutlands

For Ivan, sustainability is all about ‘closing the loop’ of waste by aiming to re-use as much as possible. In the case of Nutlands, the goal is to eliminate any waste products so that everything is reusable. This philosophy extends to the hazelnut shells, husks, cuttings and prunings accumulated on the Nutlands property.

Ivan believes that such thinking can be easily transferred and applied within almost any other business. “I think that other businesses could look at what we’re doing and if they looked in their own backyard, I think they’d find that there is a lot of stuff there that is recyclable,” he explains.

Sustainability in action

Due to the nature and relatively small scale of this business, the energy footprint is reasonable modest. In terms of water use, Ivan and Dot have installed a grey water tank which is attached to the kitchen. The water from this tank is recycled and pumped on to the field and used in the hazelnut orchard as irrigation. However, it is in the area of waste management that Ivan and Dot have undertaken some exciting initiatives with the ultimate goal of making everything reusable. 

All the leaves, husks and prunings from the hazelnut trees must be removed at harvest time. This means that each year, the business generates 6 tonnes of shells that would potentially end up being waste. Not in Ivan’s case; “we had to think seriously, are we going to have a mountain of shells or are we going to do something with them?”  All of the ‘waste’ material from the orchard is collected in a large compost bin and is left to decompose organically. Ivan plans to sell the resulting leaf mulch to local garden centres or home gardens. As he explains, “there are no sprays or nothing ... in them (the leaves and clippings) ... so they’d be good for gardens and everything”.

Another by-product of Ivan’s business is the shells from the hazelnuts. “For every kilogram of nuts we get half a kilogram of shells and half a kilogram of kernels. The shells we are using to make into pellets for pellet fires,” says Ivan. The shells are being mixed with a little sawdust to improve their burning efficiency and being made locally in Makarewa. This represents a great example of how, with a little foresight, a potential waste product can be transformed into a product of value. 

Ivan is now considering the purchase of a pellet-burner to use for heating the processing shed at Nutlands. There is also the potential to convert the family home, which is currently heated by a diesel boiler, to pellet fire heating in the future.

Challenges involved in seeking sustainability

For Ivan and Dot, the main challenge involved with improving the sustainability of their business is the investment of time required. On average, they spend approximately 4 hours a day for 6-8 weeks of the year collecting leaves and plant litter off the ground before being able to harvest the hazelnuts. 

Advice for other businesses

The key advice that Ivan would pass on to other business-owners is to consider the inputs to the business, in parallel with the outputs. Ivan recommends looking “carefully at what you’re doing and think in the future of the products that you can recycle; where are they going to finish up and ... going to be used for”. In many cases, such items can be on-sold and therefore hold a dollar value. Furthermore, if other people can benefit from what they’re doing, that’s an additional bonus according to Ivan.