Unilever drives energy-efficient food processing
fitted with state-of-the-art insulation and energy re-use
facilities, has produced savings in refrigeration costs of some 40
per cent compared with traditional designs.
Much of this improvement comes from special mats beneath the cold store which re-use heat from the refrigeration plants. The company claims that the building has been designed to blend into the landscape.
This is the just one example of how big food manufacturers are trying to achieve greater efficiency and, at the same time, meet tough new environmental regulations. Unilever believes that it is leading the industry in this respect - it claims that the Unilever Bestfoods UK (UBF) division has saved £1.34 million since 2001 by reducing energy use.
The company, which manufactures brands such as Marmite, Flora and Pot Noodle, has cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 14 861 tonnes.
In 2001, the UK Government introduced the Climate Change Levy, a business tax on energy use. Companies who reduce energy consumption in line with government targets are eligible for an 80 per cent tax discount. To qualify, UBF must reduce energy use by 10 per cent at its manufacturing sites by 2010. Interim targets are set and reviewed every two years.
To meet these targets UBF has installed energy efficient equipment and reduced leaks of compressed air and steam. 'Switch it off' campaigns are used to raise awareness and motivate staff to save energy.
The company has appointed an energy manager at each site to co-ordinate activities and monitor progress. These managers attend workshops to exchange ideas and hear from external energy specialists.
Since 2001 all but one of the company's nine sites have exceeded their interim target. This entitles UBF to sell CO2 allowances to other companies and this will generate further revenue. UBF expects to save a further £1.34 million by achieving its targets for 2004.
This comes after Unilever Ice Cream company recently committed itself to buying only HFC-free freezers from 2005. The freezers have already been introduced in Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK, and the company claims it will have around 15,000 HFC-free cabinets in its fleet by the end of 2004.
Similarly, Coca-Cola claims that by the 2004 Olympics in Athens, it will no longer purchase new cold drink equipment that uses HFCs. The company has also pledged to reduce the energy consumption of individual equipment by 40 to 50 per cent over the next ten years.
The new freezers use the hydrocarbon, propane as refrigerant. Hydrocarbons are natural gases that do not harm the ozone layer and have virtually no impact on climate change. The HFC (hydrofluorocarbons) gases they replace are not ozone depletors like traditional refrigerants such as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons), but do contribute to global warming.
These gases were introduced by the refrigeration industry following the discovery of the ozone hole in 1986, which forced the banning of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) Greenpeace describes the move now as an environmental case of 'out of the frying pan into the fire.'
Unilever says that laboratory trials suggest the hydrocarbon freezers are also more energy efficient, using up to 15 per cent less energy to keep ice cream at the right temperature, compared with other models. Longer-term trials in the Australian market showed a 9 per cent reduction in energy use compared with HFC cabinets. Although hydrocarbon refrigerants have been available in household freezers for some time, Unilever claims it is the first company to use them on a large scale for commercial freezer cabinets.
