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Clean energy
At Kellogg's UK factories in Manchester and Wrexham, energy is recovered from the wastewater treatment systems and exhaust systems on cookers respectively; in both cases it is used to (pre) heat water, resulting in combined energy reductions of over 3,700 MWh 54
Clean energy
Food manufacturers can also slash their carbon emissions by removing coal from their energy mix and replacing it with greener alternatives, such as biomass, hydropower, wind and solar energy This calls for investment in renewable energy infrastructures in areas where access to electricity is limited and working with energy suppliers to enable scale up of technological innovations
For example Unilever, which is aiming at carbon neutrality by 2030, has entered into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewable energy producers and purchases national renewable electricity certificates (RECs) in individual countries from a dedicated renewable electricity source. As a result, all its locations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America are powered by 100% renewable grid electricity; and 16 manufacturing sites are completely carbon neutral in their energy use 55
The energy needs of Mars' 70 production sites in the US are covered by a 25,000 acre wind farm in Texas called Mesquite Creek, with a similar project for its 6 sites in Mexico 56 Similarly, General Mills signed a 15year PPA with Roaring Fork Wind, LLC, a joint venture partnership between Renewable Energy Systems and Steelhead Americas, for 200 megawatts (MW) of its Maverick Creek wind project in central Texas Together with the company’s previous wind power agreement, General Mills now has energy credits equal to 100% of the electricity used annually at its domestic facilities 57
Kellogg, meanwhile, has conducted a global renewable energy assessment with a third party to determine the technical and financial feasibility of renewable power in each of its markets. Amongst the innovations realised, its plant in Taloja, India has installed solar panels, which are already delivering 10 percent of the facility’s power requirements 58
