Environment: Business Initiatives Category Müller Dairy (Gold) Müller Dairy is committed to minimising the impact of its business on the environment and a number of considerations have shaped the way it has developed its sustainable environmental strategy. The company carried out both an employee survey, which revealed they were passionate about the environment, and consumer research, which showed consumers thought businesses should be doing more to address environmental issues. In addition, awareness of Government targets for a reduction in waste and utility consumption, and the need to comply with requirements from suppliers in relation to environmental issues, led Müller Dairy to develop its environmental programme. It created the role of Head of CSR and established a CSR team to ensure its environmental programme embraced all areas of the company. To date, Müller Dairy has been involved in a variety of initiatives including becoming the first dairy company to join the Carbon Trust as a pilot partner. This enabled it to measure the carbon footprint of one of its lines and indentify where carbon emissions could be reduced. This initiative revealed that 59% of emissions were generated on the farm so Müller Dairy worked with contracted local farmers to measure their individual carbon footprints and advise them on how to reduce their emissions. To measure its progress, Müller Dairy set targets to reduce waste to landfill by 66% by 2011 and send zero waste to landfill by 2015; to reduce packaging weight by 10% by 2010; and to reduce energy use by 8% by the end of 2011. To date the company – which also aims to minimise food miles through working with local suppliers - is on track to meet these ambitious targets. Pinneys of Scotland (Silver) Pinneys of Scotland supplies premium quality salmon and seafood products for the UK and European retail market. Pinneys carried out an extensive environmental audit to identify areas for improvement in order to develop a carbon management programme. The company then set ambitious targets to drive it towards environmental excellence. Reflecting the key elements of the Food and Drink Federation’s Five-fold Environmental Ambition, by 2010 Pinneys will strive to implement: improvement of its carbon footprint a zero waste to landfill policy
sustainability, people, packaging and raw materials, product development, and waste, and set objectives for each strand with continued measurement. Key achievements include: diverting 77% of waste from landfill a 5.2% increase in recycling between 2007 and 2008 (now, over 6% of the company’s waste is recycled) a 10% weight reduction across most product packaging an 18% reduction in the company’s carbon footprint an 11.7% reduction in electricity consumption from process redevelopments a 31.15% reduction in waste per ton of finished product year on year a 40% reduction in energy usage per cook through the introduction of a temperature monitoring system. Premier Foods (Bronze) Aware of its responsibility to the environment, Premier Foods is committed to improving its environmental performance. Its objective is to provide a comprehensive framework of good environmental management practices that are applied across the business and extended through the supply chain. To achieve this, Premier Foods developed a new Five Star Environmental Awards Scheme, which was introduced in September 2008. The scheme is aimed at putting environmental issues firmly on the agenda, helping Premier Foods meet its environmental commitments over the next few years, particularly in the areas of energy, waste and water management. Bronze, Silver and Gold stars are awarded in recognition of the performance in each category. The scheme has raised the profile of the environment and the desire to improve environmental performance throughout the business. Key improvements to date include: energy performance, in line with the 5% year on year energy reduction target waste to landfill reduction, in line with the 20% year on year reduction target a high level of response to the Federation House Commitment on water reduction. The scheme has been successful in encouraging businesses to become actively involved with their local communities by promoting constructive dialogue and responding to local issues and concerns.
a 25% reduction in water consumption an Environmental Management System strong customer alliance. To achieve these goals Pinneys developed an environmental strategy with seven pillars, climate change, water usage, ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE