9 December 2010 | Angeline Albert
Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Mars and Unilever are
among more than 300 food and drink firms making progress in sustainable
procurement, the Food and DrinkFederation
(FDF) reports.
The third annual study
analysing progress against the Federation’s green goals shows how its members
have improved the efficiency and productivity of their operations.
The FDF report, which assessed
the performance of its members during 2009, found they had collectively reduced
carbon emissions by 21 per cent, compared with 1990 emission levels. It had
aimed to cut emissions by 20 per cent by 2010.
Furthermore, the firms have agreed to raise
the Federation’s 2020 CO2 reduction target from 30 per cent (on 1990’s baseline
levels) to 35 per cent. The report said this was: “In recognition of the
urgency of tackling climate change” and the UK-wide target of an 80 per cent
reduction by 2050.
A survey of all FDF members revealed that
the collective volume of food and packaging waste sent to landfill from
factories has nearly halved in three years.
In 2009, of the 481,000 tonnes of food and
packaging waste produced by FDF members, more than 90 per cent (435,000 tonnes)
was recovered or recycled, which meant only 9 per cent (43,000 tonnes) was sent
to landfill. This is a significant improvement on previous years when 16.5 per
cent was sent to landfill in 2006 and 12.5 per cent in 2008. The industry is on
track for its landfill waste to be zero by 2015.
In the report Mars said its factory carbon
emissions have dropped by 22 per cent since 2007 and it is “on track” to stop
sending waste to landfill by end of 2011. Kellogg’s said by the end of 2010, no food and packaging waste will go to landfill from
its Manchester factory. And Coca-Cola said 99.9 per cent of its manufacturing
waste has been recycled or recovered. Unilever UK & Ireland reported a 7
per cent reduction in CO2 from energy across UK sites between 2008 and 2009 and
a 47 per cent reduction in waste across UK sites in the same period.
