Environmental impact
Effective energy and water management can have a positive impact both on operational performance and on the environment.
For example, the high levels of cooking, chiling and freezing within Northern Foods mean that the company is a high energy user. By reducing the amount of energy used, we are able to reduce our impact on the environment and reduce our exposure to energy costs. Not surprisingly, it's an area where we are focusing our efforts.
Reducing energy
Northern Foods has continued to meet its obligations under the UK Climate Change Levy Agreement.
In meeting our third bi-annual milestone target in December 2006 we have been able to drive a steady reduction in energy consumption since the 1999 base year. This has been achieved through concerted energy saving efforts at site, co-ordinated by our on site energy champions.
We can track progress through over 1,000 energy and utility monitoring meters, linked to specialist software, that helps us to capture and report our usage.
In partnership with the Carbon Trust, we have been working towards estimation of both the total carbon footprint for our UK operations and the potential for minimising individual product specific carbon footprints. The total carbon footprint study carried out during the year confirmed the key contributors to our footprint and will allow further development of our carbon reduction strategy. On individual product specific carbon footprints we are now engaging with the Carbon Trust to consider, in partnership with other food manufacturers and retailers, the development of a single methodology for determining product specific contributions, as at present no such agreed methodology exists.
Reducing water use
Northern Foods has on ongoing programme to drive efficient water usage through the extension of the application of monitoring and targeting methodology. For example, our Carlisle ready meals site achieved a reduction in 2006/07 of over 24,000 cubic metres of water through a unique metering system that controls the flow of water to the potato blanchers. Continual real time monitoring allowed the minimisation of water usage and targeting improvement resulted in increased efficiency.
Case study: Driving energy efficiency
In a systematic approach to reducing energy, it was recognised that the use of monitoring and targeting could help support efficiency gains. By installing controls in a number of chilling units at one site, we were able to trigger the defrost cycle as and when needed instead of relying on an automatically timed defrost cycle. Elsewhere hot water clarifiers, used in steam generation, were replaced with heat exchangers enabling more efficient heating and usage of water whilst a vacuum regeneration desiccant drier was installed in the compressed air system, resulting in a significant energy saving.