The biggest success came in reducing manufacturing waste, where the firm has more than trebled its 15% reduction target; reducing waste in manufacturing by 46% per tonne, off a 2012 baseline.
Mondelez also reduced water usage by 11%, and plans to reach its 15% target thanks to a new partnership with water technology provider EcoLab.
“Our business success is directly linked to enhancing the well-being of the people who make and enjoy our products and to supporting the communities where we grow our ingredients ,” said Mondelez chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. “It’s this belief that inspired our ‘Call for Well-being’.
“We’ve made important progress in answering this call, yet we realize there’s still more to be done. We’ll continue working with our employees, partners and communities to develop solutions that help create lasting change.”
Sustainable sourcing
The $35bn company also eliminated 22.5 metric tonnes of packaging waste and reduced emissions by 9% per tonne last year, through energy saving projects and new renewable energy sources. A focus on reducing greenhouse gases is particularly relevant given the recent report which warned of a record surge in the levels of atmospheric C02.
Mondelez did struggle to reduce its overall energy usage in manufacturing, reporting a cut of just 6% compared to its target of a 15% reduction by 2015.
The Well-being Report goes on to set specific targets for Mondelez to sustainably source a number of its key commodities. In 2013, 10% of cocoa, 56% of coffee and 44% of West European biscuits were sustainably sourced. By 2015, Mondelez wants these figures to be at 100%, 70% and 75% respectively. Last year, the snacking firm was able to ensure 100% of its palm oil was sustainably sourced – a target it had initially set for 2015.
Mondelez Well-being Progress Report: UK case studies
- A milk processing plant at Marlbrook in Herefordshire invested in a new evaporator which led to a 30% reduction in wasted milk, 25% reduction in CO2 emissions, and 74% reduction in energy use
- Chirk near Wrexham, where cocoa beans are processed, has reduced its water consumption by 20% by treating waste water on site for reuse in its boilers and cooling towers which are not in contact with food production
- At a coffee manufacturing factory in Banbury, approximately 100 tonnes of water per day has been saved by capturing ‘low-grade’ heat from the coffee process that would have otherwise have been discarded through the site’s cooling towers
- Banbury has also invested in an anaerobic digestion Combined Heat Power Scheme in 2012, which generates 250KWe from the biogas produced by the effluent plant, saving 929 tonnes of carbon
Read an abridged version of the report here: –
Brad Allen