Swedish food packaging and processing company Tetra Pak has launched a new Environmental Benchmarking Service to help food and beverage companies assess the environmental performance of their production operations.
The service helps in assessing the entire plant which includes both the processing and packaging lines.
A plant's performance in areas like water efficiency, waste water treatment, energy efficiency, product yield and waste and carbon footprint is also audited.
Based on the result of this audit, the Tetra Pak Technical Service team will provide specific recommendations on opportunities for improvement, helping customers not only to reduce their environmental impact, but also lower cost.
The company has carried out pilot projects in the US and Europe which has resulted in firms saving 20% average costs.
US based producer of organic foods and beverages Pacific Foods was found to reduce its carbon footprint by approximately 3500 tonnes of CO2 and cut water consumption by some 31 million litres annually.
Tetra Pak technical service vice president Johan Nilsson said: "Environmental performance is rising ever-higher on the agenda of our customers. They are constantly looking for solutions to lower their carbon footprint while reducing operational costs.
"Tetra Pak has delivered more than 150 operational improvement projects for customers over the past ten years. Now, we are transforming the insights and know-how gained from these projects into a service that helps customers to assess their own environmental performance against that of their peers and recognized best practice, helping them to achieve sustainable improvements in both their environmental profile and their costs."
Pacific Foods director of sustainability and environmental affairs Rory Schmick said: "We strive to optimize environmental performance throughout our organization, whether conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions or minimizing our water footprint.
"The Environmental Benchmarking Service identified concrete opportunities to enhance performance and reduce environmental impact throughout our facilities. Tetra Pak's deep knowledge in the industry makes the service really work."
Image: The new environmental benchmarking service will help food and beverage companies assess the environmental performance of their production operations. Photo: courtesy of Tetra Pak.
