PRODUCTION Meet NCPC excellence in resource efficiency

Meet excellence in RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Excellent Meat is reaping significant financial and sustainability rewards from industrial energy and water efficiency interventions, implemented with assistance from the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa’s Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production Programme.

The 51-year-old family-owned supplier of quality Halaal products to customers such as Woolworths, Pick n Pay, McDonalds, KFC, Spur, Burger King, and Ethiopian Airlines, among others, accrued monetary savings to the tune of R2 904 312 and energy savings of 1 653 835kWh between 2018 and 2020. It reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1 654-ton CO2.

Excellent Meat invested R75 000 in electricity management initiatives, which saved it more than R709 400 and 412 470kWh in electricity consumption at two of its four sites. An investment of R360 958 in water-saving initiatives effected total water cost savings between 2018 and 2020 of R1 500 312; water consumption savings of 29 931kL at a total value of R809 346 and wastewater savings of 28 435kL with a value of R690 967.

“The National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA), on behalf of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, has over the past three years supported Excellent Meat to explore infrastructure opportunities that will enable continuous improvement projects within its business. The company is committed to responsible production – especially in the light of the severe drought conditions that have plagued the Western Cape since 2015 – and has partnered with the City of Cape Town, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, and GreenCape to address its resource and environmental challenges. In 2017, GreenCape suggested that the NCPC-SA, hosted by the CSIR, gets involved,” explains Andre Page of the NCPC-SA.

A Waterwise Workshop with other stakeholders followed, during which a presentation was given on the Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) Programme of the NCPC-SA. Excellent Meat immediately expressed interest and thus, in March 2018, a water assessment commenced and was followed by an energy assessment in parallel with a lifecycle management capability maturity model assessment by two independent service providers.

Page says, “The company implemented more than 14 projects, which included identifying water leaks. Finding a leak under a 4 000sqm factory proved a challenge, but once located, consumption was reduced by almost 50%. Excellent Meat also invested in tracking tools such as watersmart meters and electricity-tracking tools, and learnt how to set realistic water consumption targets, considering the prevailing water situation as well as the reality of a food processing facility’s stringent water-reliant hygiene standards.”

The energy assessment recommended a change of electricity tariff. It found that the operating hours of Excellent Meat aligned better with a time-of-use tariff that has a lower maximum demand charge. In six months during 2020, this effected a saving of R351 000.

“Excellent Meat is an RECP champion and a responsible corporate citizen of which to be proud,” Page adds.

“Besides what it has already achieved, it continues its work with GreenCape to assess green technology options targeting water conservation. It has also established a sustainability team to monitor, review and implement energy, water and waste policies and interventions, while promoting greater awareness among all its suppliers and other stakeholders by sharing information regarding its resource consumption, corresponding greenhouse gas emissions, and improvement actions.

“The company’s commitment to continually improve its sustainability performance, including optimising the use of materials and resources at its sites and offices, and considering the entire life cycle of activities, will stand it in good stead and is an example worth following.”

View the Excellent Meat Sustainability Journal on