According to the Federation House Commitment’s 2010 report, despite increasing overall production by around 4.2%, the firms – including Birds Eye, Premier Foods, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and United Biscuits – have reduced water usage (not including that embedded in products) by 5.6% across 186 sites: to 34,500,091m3 in 2009 compared with 36,559,054m3 in 2007.
The FHC is managed by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) a government-funded, non-profit company, and aims to improve water efficiency across the sector. So far, 42 major companies have signed-up to FHC savings targets.
The central long-term FHC target involves an 20% total reduction in water use across the sites by 2020, and WRAP says that the food and drink industry in England and Wales is aware of the need for savings for reasons of both ecology and cost, given that it uses around 156,950,000m3 of water per year.
Large firms lead way
CCE said in the report that installation of water meters at its Sidcup factory and software tracking water usage for specific lines had really helped. After measuring usage, CCE fitted more efficient water nozzles on a canning line, halving its water requirement. A new type of sealed pump also helped the site save 250m3 of water a week.
Premier Foods said that in 2009 it identified 178 water-saving initiatives in 2009 at its Histon preserves and desserts facility: fixing leaks, limiting use of hoses, substituting dry for wet cleaning methods and fitting a reverse osmosis plant.
The firm said that 55% of initiatives were implemented by January 2010, resulting in non-ingredient water-usage falling from 4.4m3 per tonne in June 2009 to 3.25m3 a tonne that December, with further savings of around 40,000m3 per year thought possible.
United Biscuits said it had reached its own 2020 water-saving target ten years early, with a 28% reduction in UK-wide usage since 2007. Initiatives included installing a water recycling system at its Billingham snacks factory – where water is used extensively to wash, transport, peel and slice potatoes – that is expected to save around 500,000m3 of water a year.
Help for industry
Liz Goodwin, ceo, WRAP, said these sort of savings since 2007 meant the sector was on course to meet the 20% reduction figure:“Reducing water consumption is also helping the food and drink sector to reduce its carbon footprint and deliver cost savings at the same time.”
Goodwin also detailed some specific help that WRAP was giving the industry, including on-site advice from technical water experts:“Companies have access to online tools, bench-marking information, case studies and the chance to participate in peer-working groups.”