CONDUCT A SITE AUDIT
So you have decided to take action and improve your company's environmental credentials, but what next? Environmental consultancy ADAS advises that a business should start by carrying out a sustainability audit of its operations. "This would include a site visit and an interview with the managing director to see how the business works and identify areas that can be improved," says Ben Leonello, senior consultant for ADAS.
Once the audit has been carried out, a firm's performance can be measured through environmental measures, such as carbon footprinting. A carbon footprint is the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a product or organisation expressed in units of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02-e). It is a method of expressing the total impact of all
greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) produced by a process or product.
Calculating the carbon footprint is a complicated process because there are so many inputs; the raw materials, waste, energy and fuel used during production will each have their own footprint to add to the equation.
In order to ensure a consistent and comparable approach to supply chain management of GHGs across British industry, Defra, Carbon Trust and the British Standards Institute (BSI) are developing and testing a standard method for carbon footprinting (PAS2050). By applying the PAS2050 method throughout the supply chain, a business can calculate GHG emissions for its products, and identify areas for improvement. Although the PAS2050 standard is an effective method within supply chains, its life-cycle methodology means it can take a long time to do.
NEW FOOTPRINTING MODEL
In order to offer an alternative, often faster method, ADAS therefore also offers a new footprint-modelling programme called Bottomline3 UK in partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Accounting (Cen SA). "Bottomline 3 uses a different approach to the PAS2050 approach," says Leonello. "It uses a company's financial accounts to allocate energy use and emissions. It allows a business to calculate its direct and indirect economic, social and environmental impacts and is particularly suited to calculating the footprint of a business."
Once a carbon footprint analysis has been carried out, businesses can easily identify where they can reduce emissions. Although nationally factors such as transport are important contributors to a footprint, for a meat product, most emissions occur at the farm level -such as from methane from the livestock and nitrous oxide.
THINK ENVIRONMENT
In order to minimise emissions at this point in the supply chain, Leonello recommends that businesses consider the environmental performance of their suppliers. "Processors should undertake an audit of their current and potential supplier's production systems to determine which are the most sustainable," he says.
ADAS recommends that carbon footprint analysis should be repeated periodically and the results used to set targets and measure success. All environmental impacts such as waste production and water use should also be measured. Targets for emissions, water use efficiency and waste minimisation can then be incorporated in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan. "The sustainable development emphasis of the CSR action plan needs to be placed on sustainable procurement, improvements in energy efficiency and water, gas fuel, and electricity consumption," Leonello adds.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Achieving greater energy efficiency offers quick savings for any business, especially in the meat industry - where large amounts of energy are used through refrigeration. "It is usually the case that all businesses and public sector organisations could use less energy. Experience shows that energy savings of between 10% and 20% can be made by employing low-cost to no-cost measures," says Gary Worby, a consultant at EnergyQuote.
Meat processors should start by undertaking an energy audit, to identify areas which can be improved and establish what savings can be made. A great way of increasing margins is to invest in environmentally efficient equipment when planning replacements. Businesses can acquire the funds to purchase such equipment through schemes such as the Carbon Trust's SME loans scheme and Enhanced Capital Allowances from the government. "For higher-cost technical fixes, such as energy efficient refrigeration, a business needs to carry out a feasibility study first, looking at things such as initial outlay cost and payback periods," says ADAS' Leonello.
Improved energy management can also offer savings. "Improved energy management practices, including measuring and control can be expected to provide companies with energy savings of between 5-10%, depending on the state of their processing plants," says Christine Walsh, consultant with Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Meat Services.
Measuring and control are essential components of good energy management. "Often there is a great deal of energy data collected which is used for accounting, however there is very little analysis carried out, apart from ensuring utility invoices are correct," says Walsh. "Relating your energy data to throughput can help to provide good and continuous savings and help identify further opportunities."
Regular maintnenance of equipment is also important, and insulation, heating, lighting and ventilation must be monitored and replaced when inefficient or damaged. Walsh recommends the appointment of an energy manager to oversee energy management on site and regular training for staff. "It is very important to ensure staff involvement, especially with new initiatives. Keeping doors shut is one of the quickest wins," she says.
A business can also improve its carbon credentials by switching to a green energy supplier. Leonello suggests
visiting www.greenhelpline.com, a website that allows companies to enter their postcode and compare their energy tariffs with green suppliers.
As there is no scheme in place to verify suppliers' claims about the environmental benefits or 'greenness' of their tariffs, Worby recommends that businesses should carefully research the 'green' supplier, so they have a clear understanding of what they are buying. "They should also look into a supplier's fuel mix disclosure - the mix of fuels used to generate the electricity supplied to their customers - for instance, coal, gas, nuclear and renewables," he says.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Animal by-products have considerable energy generating potential, and biogas technology offers the chance to reduce waste, while producing enough energy to power a plant and perhaps even sell back into the national grid.
The most important development for renewable energy generation this year has been the removal of tallow from the realms of complex waste disposal controls, which made it unviable as a renewable energy source. Until a decision by the EU Commission in June, tallow was classified as a waste product and subject to the Waste Incineration Directive (WID). This meant that operators that wanted to burn tallow to generate heat were required to fit expensive WID-compliant equipment to their boilers.
The former MLC, the UK Renderers' Association, three processing associations and UK farming associations have campaigned for over three years to get tallow reclassified as a renewable fuel. The EU has now clarified that animal by-products such as tallow can be used as a fuel and do not come under WID legislation.
Another significant development has been the launch of a government/industry initiative aimed at promoting anaerobic digestion - a process that breaks down organic matter to produce biogas. In July, 50 senior industry and NGO executives met Defra ministers to discuss multi-million pound plans to further develop the food chain's use of anaerobic technology. Ministers also announced a £10m programme of 'demonstrator projects' aimed at encouraging investment in anaerobic technology.
"Anaerobic digestion is still an emerging technology this country, and it's clear that we are not yet making full use of its potential," says Defra minister Phil Woolas. "It has a number of real environmental benefits which we want to maximise."
At present, anaerobic digestion technology is a costly option for businesses looking to generate renewable energy, but with government research and support, it could be a viable option for the future.
SAVING WATER
Water is an increasingly valuable resource, and there have been stark warnings that it will become scarce in the near future as a result of climate change. Careful water management is therefore an essential part of any corporate responsibility plan. "Maintaining a supply of fresh water is becoming a problem in some areas of England, while wastewater disposal is a problem for virtually every processing plant in the UK," says Walsh. "In both cases, careful water management will reduce the economic impact."
Water management is particularly pressing for abattoirs, which use an average 10,000t of water per annum. "Hygiene standards necessitate the use of large quantities of fresh water," says Walsh. "Water is used for watering and washing livestock and the carcases, cleaning the lairage, process equipment and work areas."
Walsh recommends metering as the first key step to reducing water use in a plant. "Sub-meters can record water use in different parts of the sites especially the big water users - for example, lairage, gutroom, diptanks, and main cleaning hoses - can be connected to data loggers to match production and cleaning shifts to water use," she says.
Water discharge from the plant should also be checked on a regular basis. This is especially important when the plant is not in operation and should not be using water. "A wastewater discharge meter can help locate leaks and other sources of wasted water,"
says Walsh. Leak reporting and repair should be a part of a company's routine maintenance.
As well as short-term management solutions, there are opportunities to make longer-term investments in water management. Fine mesh drain covers fitted throughout a plant will prevent solid waste and scraps from entering the effluent stream and drains can be re-routed to stop blood entering the sewer. Rainwater harvesting allows significant water supply from rainwater, which can be stored in underground or above-ground tanks. "Rainwater can be used to clean the lairage and flush loos," says Walsh. "If you don't use it, you pay for it to go down the drain."
Firms willing to invest sizable capital into water management can acquire membrane systems, which treat effluent streams by ultrafiltration, nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. "Contaminants can be treated and removed to produce water of drinking quality, suitable for reuse on site.".