Until recently the only people who wanted to heal the world were environmentalists and Michael Jackson and both were generally thought of as a little odd. These days, as every manufacturer knows, it's social suicide if you're not seen to be 'doing your bit'. But with energy prices soaring, the focus is more on saving costs, than saving the planet.

Government proposals to tighten carbon targets under the dairy sector's Climate Change Agreement (CCA) must be fair, according to Gerry Sweeney, chairman of Dairy Energy Savings (DES), which administers the CCA on behalf of the dairy processing sector.

Automatic monitoring and targeting (AM&T) systems provided by Endress+Hauser assist in minimising wastage, providing exact and instant reports and data updates easily, so energy use can be effectively audited and energy performance improved.

The installation of the Maxsys Fuel System at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne plant of Findus has reduced the gas consumption of its three boilers by 6.6%. This saving will allow the company to recoup the outlay on its investment within just 12 months.

JET Environmental, specialist in energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems is working with a parliamentary group to promote simple solutions which could significantly cut the carbon footprint of food companies.

Water filtration specialist Industrial Purification Systems has developed the CrossFlowMF1.0 water filtration process to bridge the gap between conventional water filter systems and the more advanced membrane technology, or ultra filtration, at a fraction of the capital cost.

Somerset-based Grampian Country Pork is now able to process all of its effluent discharges on-site, including waste that was previously tankered off-site, following the installation of a new effluent treatment system from Micromac Filtration.

Energy efficiency and overall cost of ownership were key considerations in the design of a new £68M production site in Bridgewater for Robert Wiseman Dairies.

The latest findings from a survey for Brammer, supplier of maintenance, repair and overhaul products, suggest that manufacturing companies across Europe are failing to capitalise on more than £10bn of potential energy savings at their plants.