2Sustain

On Monday, Kraft Foods announced that over the past three years, it has reduced water used in manufacturing processes by more than three billion gallons. That’s enough water to fill nearly 5,000 Olympic swimming pools and a 21% reduction since 2005, exceeding the company’s water reduction goal two years early.

Here is a sampling of the many different projects that contributed to Kraft Foods’ water savings:

• A coffee plant in Jacksonville, Florida installed a closed-loop system to reuse water to cool coffee grinding equipment instead of using city water. This helped reduce water use by more than 35% (nearly 20 million gallons/75 million liters).

• A bakery in Atlanta, Georgia reduced water use by 33% (nearly 17 million gallons/64 million liters) through modifications to cleaning processes. Employees reduced the amount of water used for cleaning specific equipment and also eliminated unnecessary re-cleaning of equipment. They also changed cleaning procedures to begin cleaning before using water, and they repaired leaks at the facility.

• The Champaign, Illinois grocery plant reduced water use by nearly 20% (nearly 120 million gallons/450 million liters). Employees raised awareness about ways to reduce water use, fixed leaks, and outfitted plant boilers and evaporating equipment to reuse well water instead of the town’s water.

• In Bahrain, a cheese and beverage plant reduced water use by 33% (5 million gallons/18 million liters per year) through the use of alternative options to enhance the effectiveness of cleaning without compromising product quality. As a result, product lines can run longer without interruption.

• A Kraft Foods plant in Port Melbourne, Australia has initiated plans to reduce potable water use up to 39% (20 million gallons/74 million liters per year). The project will reuse production process water and optimize clean-in-place systems for manufacturing equipment. In addition, Port Melbourne is working to find new uses for wastewater, such as partnering with a road construction group to reuse approximately 10 million liters per year for road compaction and dust suppression.

• A cheese plant in Fallingbostel, Germany, reduced water use by 7% (18.5 million gallons/70 million liters per year). The plant is now reusing its manufacturing process water — instead of using the town’s water — to run the plant’s cooling towers.

• At Kraft Foods corporate headquarters in Northfield, Illinois, three lakes on the campus capture rainwater for reuse in handling half of the property’s irrigation needs. The building is cooled by ice — recycled water is frozen at night, and fans push the cool air the ice generates into the offices.

As I’ve posted about before, the concept of a “corporate water footprint” is on everyone’s radar screen these days, and it’s great to see that companies like Kraft Foods are beginning to step up to the challenge of water stewardship.

What’s more, I’m really struck by how much water can be saved by what seem like rather straightforward initiatives (re-thinking cleaning processes, fixing leaks, re-using water by developing close-loop systems, etc.). And, of course, improving efficiencies like this translate directly into cost savings, as well.

“We’re changing behavior and getting results,” says Steve Yucknut, Vice President, Sustainability. “Around the world, thousands of our employees are working on projects that help us reduce our environmental impact. We focus on manufacturing, since that’s where we use the most water for internal operations. And we pay particular attention to water-scarce areas, where the need is greatest.”

For more information on Kraft Food’s sustainability efforts, see http://www.kraftfoodsbetterworld.com