Nestle forms new energy reduction partnership

The world's largest food company has announced a new partnership with Sheffield Hallam University to explore resource efficiency across a range of its operational value chain.


Nestle UK and Ireland will work with the University’s National Centre for Excellence for Food Engineering to lead a series of projects in collaboration with Innovate UK that will see the company deliver an estimated energy saving of 190,000GJ per year, while also reducing waste.

Ryan McNeill, resource efficiency lead at Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: “In meeting the greatest challenges facing our business today and in the future, the need to collaborate is clear. Through our projects with Innovate UK we are driving innovation, gaining new insight into our operations and adding value to our business partners, academia and society.”

Nestle will look closely at reducing its carbon footprint in the heating process of its product chain. The project will examine the 40-metre long ovens used to manufacture KitKats, exploring ways to improve efficiency. Nestle will also work with researchers to reduce raw milk supply chain waste by 3% across its entire UK supply chain.

Nestle hopes that the Innovate UK projects will help improve resource efficiency and deliver impressive cost savings across the food supply chain that will benefit the whole industry.

Energy break

Last week, the company revealed that its Fawdon factory in Northumberland – the producer of Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles, Rolo, Toffee Crisp and Caramac – has been installed with a 500kW solar roof system, the largest solar panel installation in the North East of England.

Nestlé’s head of environmental sustainability Andrew Griffiths noted that the solar project would be the catalyst for other renewable energy installations across the company’s UK estate, after it became one of the founding members of the RE100 campaign late last year.

The Fawdon factory has also achieved zero-waste-to-landfill and cut emissions by 10%, one year after installing a giant anaerobic digester. The factory is converting four tonnes of solid waste and 200,000 litres of liquid waste into renewable energy and clean water each day.

Matt Mace

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