“We’re changing behaviour and getting results,” said Steve Yucknut, vice president, sustainability. “Around the world, thousands of our employees are working on projects that help us reduce our environmental impact. We focus on manufacturing, since that’s where we use the most water for internal operations. And we pay particular attention to water-scarce areas, where the need is greatest.”
The company has success stories from locations around the globe:
Australia – Port Melbourne plant recently won a prominent environmental award for identifying opportunities and taking actions to reduce potable water use up to 39% (74 million litres a year). The project will reuse production process water and optimise clean-in-place systems for manufacturing equipment. Port Melbourne is working to find new uses for wastewater, even partnering with a road construction group to reuse approximately 10 million litres per year for road compaction and dust suppression.
Bahrain – Cheese and beverage plant reduced water use by 33% (18 million litres a year) by using alternative options to enhance the effectiveness of cleaning without compromising product quality. Product lines can now run longer without interruption.
Germany – Fallingbostel cheese plant reduced water use by 7% (70 million litres a year). The plant is now reusing its manufacturing process water (instead of using the town’s water) to run the plant’s cooling towers.
Florida, US – Jacksonville coffee plant installed a closed-loop system to reuse water to cool coffee grinding equipment instead of using city water, helping it reduce water use by more than 35% (75 million litres).
Georgia, US – Atlanta Bakery reduced water use by 33% (64 million litres). Employees reduced the amount of water used for cleaning specific equipment and also eliminated unnecessary re-cleaning of equipment. They also changed cleaning procedures to begin cleaning before using water, and repaired leaks at the facility.
Illinois, US – The Champaign grocery plant reduced water use by nearly 20% (450 million litres). Employees raised awareness about ways to reduce water use, fixed leaks and outfitted plant boilers and evaporating equipment to reuse well water instead of the town’s water.
At its corporate headquarters in Northfield, three lakes on the campus capture rainwater for reuse in handling half of the property’s irrigation needs. And the building is cooled by ice – recycled water is frozen at night, and fans push the cool air the ice generates into the offices.
Source: Kraft Foods Inc
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