FEBRUARY 2019 ENERGY
line. Nestlé has used some innovative methods,
including using its own product, for being greener.
For example, at its factory in Tutbury,
Derbyshire, the home of Nescafé, biomass
technology had started to be used in 2015. Waste
coffee matter left over from the coffee-making
process is collected and incinerated on site to
produce power for the factory. This is part of its
zero-waste factory policy, which means that no
factory waste will go to landfill or be incinerated
without energy being recovered from the process.
Nestlé switched to 100% renewable energy on
1 April 2016. In 2018, it also opened its own wind
farm in Scotland, producing around 125GWh of
power per annum. That’s enough to supply half
the annual electricity demands of all Nestlé’s UK
and Ireland operations.
A spokesperson for Nestlé said: “At our
factories in Fawdon, Newcastle and Tutbury
we have installed solar PV. The combined sites
house over 4,000 panels – they produce enough
electricity to power 250 homes for a year. At our
Nestlé Waters factory in Buxton, Derbyshire, we
use local hydropower. This provides around 30%
of our energy demands at the factory where we
bottle our iconic mineral water.”
Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has also
crossed the finish line to 100% renewable energy,
as it met its UK target in 2017. All electricity
purchased now comes from renewable sources,
and CCEP also recently installed a heat recovery
system at its Edmonton site, which has already led
to a 10% reduction in gas use at the factory.
The introduction of automated warehouses
has allowed CCEP to store more products onsite,
reducing transportation to third parties,
significantly reducing road miles. The latest such
facility – opening this year – will help to reduce
the carbon footprint of its factory in Sidcup,
Kent by nearly 4,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Nick Brown, head of sustainability at Coca-
Cola European Partners GB, says: “Climate
change is a critical issue for our society, for those
directly impacted by climate change and for
our business. We have already made significant
progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
in both our core business and value chain. While
we’re pleased with our progress to date, we
understand there is still much more to do, and
so we look forward to working long term with
suppliers, partners and stakeholders to work
towards a lower-carbon future.”
The wind at your back
Wavin UK, in a recent collaboration with Ørsted,
the global leader in offshore wind, is aiming to
use natural gas and 100% renewable electricity
energy from April this year. The renewable
electricity will come from Ørsted’s 11 operational
UK wind farms and is certified by REGOs
(Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) –
official validation that each kWh of energy is
provided by a renewable source. The new energy
supply will see Wavin reduce its CO2 emissions
by 13.7 tonnes a year.
Incinerated waste coffee powers
the Nescafé factory in Tutbury
Philip Swancott, category
manager for services at Wavin,
said: “For Wavin, sustainability
has become a driver for value
creation. Ultimately, we want
to deliver products that meet
our own sustainability demands
and those of our customer, the
government and society.
“Ørsted was a clear choice
to be our supplier following a
robust procurement process.
They’re committed to helping
us to towards a sustainable
future, assisting in reducing
our overall consumption
through efficiency, energy
management and optimising
onsite generation assets.”
Crossing the finish line
With the all the chaos
surrounding Brexit currently
hitting the headlines, its easy
to forget how important your
environmental impact is. Idle
vehicles, vehicles with their
engines running while stopped,
contribute heavily towards
climate change, yet that’s not
what’s reported when talking
about the lorries that could
be stuck at Dover or the Irish
border after 29 March (see page
32). This, however, shouldn’t
detract from the very real,
long-term aim towards a more
sustainable manufacturing
industry, both in the UK and
across the world.
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