Two CCEP manufacturing sites certified carbon neutral
Two of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ (CCEP) manufacturing sites have been certified as carbon neutral.
The sites at Jordbro in Sweden and Vilas del Turbón in Spain are CCEP’s first carbon neutral sites, and are part of a pilot programme that aims for at least six CCEP sites to become carbon neutral certified according the international standard PAS 2060 by the end of 2023.
This programme is a key part of CCEP’s emission reduction target that focuses first on reducing its own value chain emissions before investing in verified carbon offset projects, prioritising those that remove carbon from the atmosphere, to take away any remaining emissions.
Both sites were chosen to be part of the programme by demonstrating a historic reduction in their carbon emissions and have plans to continue to reduce emissions for the next three years, in line with this target.
Both sites already use 100% renewable electricity, and have also made a number of changes on-site to reduce their emissions.
The Jordbro site is CCEP’s sole production facility in Sweden that produces over 350 million litres of beverages each year.
Over the past five years the site has reduced its total emissions to only 1274 tonnes CO2e, which is a reduction of 68% per litre of product produced there, through a number of measures.
These include using CO2 (that is used as an ingredient in the carbonated drinks produced at the site) from a carbon neutral source; this CO2 is a by-product of bioethanol (a form of renewable energy that is produced from feedstocks) production. LED lighting has also been installed at the site’s warehouse, and all forklift trucks on-site are electric.
The Vilas de Turbón site is a mineral water facility in the Spanish Pyrenees with one production line that exclusively produces over 10 million litres of still mineral water every year from a natural spring.
Over the past five years the site has reduced its total emissions to only 87 tonnes CO2e, which is a reduction of 36% per litre of product produced there, by installing energy efficient LED lighting across the site and adding frequency convertors to its water pumps to improve the efficiency of its water extraction.
Other measures include the installation of a biomass boiler later this year, that uses sustainably sourced wood pellets in place of fossil fuels.
As part of the PAS 2060 certification the sites have committed to a further CO2 reduction plan for the next 3 years.
To offset the remaining emissions at both sites CCEP has purchased Gold Standard certified carbon credits from a reforestation project in Orinoco, Colombia. This carbon sequestration project will support an area of savannah that has been damaged by agricultural activity through reforestation and the restoration of its ecosystem.
Approval heralds MENA’s first cultivated meat facility
Sustainable foods company, Eat Just, has partnered with Doha Venture Capital (DVC) and Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), to build the first-ever cultivated meat facility in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region.
The regional hub will be located in the Umm Alhoul Free Zone, one of two free zones overseen and regulated by QFZA, with direct access to Hamad Port.
It will initially comprise a large-scale facility for Eat Just’s GOOD Meat division, which created the world’s first-to-market meat made from animal cells instead of slaughtered livestock.
There are plans to add a protein processing facility for JUST Egg, the company’s plant-based egg division. The hub will be staffed with research and development, engineering and business development professionals.
This is DVC’s first investment in the protein innovation space and the forthcoming meat facility will be a first for QFZA, which is focused on bringing together leading global companies using innovative technologies to build a more sustainable future.
The Qatar Free Zones Authority and the Ministry of Public Health have indicated their intention to grant regulatory approval for GOOD Meat cultivated chicken very soon and have formally granted an export license for the pioneering product.
The GOOD Meat team is currently identifying restaurants in Qatar that would be ideal launch partners for this historic moment in the Middle East.
“Our team is grateful to take the next step in our global expansion in the Qatar Free Zones. Their commitment to accelerating our work in building a more sustainable food system was apparent from day one of our dialogue – and we’re expecting to look back decades from now on this partnership with them as key to how we made that vision a reality,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just.
Up close and personal
Stockport-based packaging manufacturer Macpac has launched a dedicated campaign delivering a personal and key sustainability message to its customers.
The customised newsletters will explore the changing packaging legislation policies and how these could affect a customer’s business. The company says that other matters will be discussed such as designing for sustainability.
The newsletter will cover such imminent new legislation as Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR, the Plastic Packaging Tax coming next April applying to plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic, (Macpac assert that its packaging has a minimum of 80% recycled content). Other aspects covered will be the Deposit Return Scheme (DR) and increasing consistency in kerbside collection.
Macpac say that no one is doing what it is doing – this is going the extra mile with a dedicated section on their website covering designing packaging for sustainability and offering advice on the best choice of materials to empower customers to propose the best possible solutions to their clients.
Macpac say it has come up with key sustainability goals to reduce their environmental impact these include the use of recycled materials, efficient production, zero-waste-to-landfill, renewable energy, carbon footprint.
Click or tap here to find out more.
Sealed Air packs a punch with new products launching at PPMA 2021
Global packaging provider Sealed Air will be showcasing their range of automated protective and food packaging solutions on stand C40 at this year’s PPMA show.
As Sealed Air continues to expand its portfolio of next generation sustainable solutions, the latest additions to the range will be unveiled on the stand.
The new SEALED AIR® brand FasFil® Jr paper void fill system has been specifically designed to combine all the key performance features that enable companies to confidently increase their packaging outputs from low to medium capacity.
The system is ‘plug and play’ with a super small footprint, fully integrated user-friendly controls, toolless jam clearing and anti-jam sensors. It can create custom void fill material using 100% recycled fanfold paper, which is also responsibly sourced.
Another exciting addition to the Sealed Air portfolio to be revealed on the stand will be the new SEALED AIR® brand Bubble Wrap Inflator. This all-in-one system creates on-demand inflatable bubble bags on a roll, for void-fill, cushioning, wrapping or inflatable pouches, using over 80 types of BUBBLE WRAP® brand materials.
The smart technology interface enables operators to easily switch between materials, based on their needs. Again, this has a small footprint and can be mounted in various ways to save space, which makes it ideal for businesses needing to rapidly expand their fulfilment operations.
Companies looking to increase their levels of automation would benefit from viewing the popular range of AUTOBAG® brand automated packing solutions, including systems designed to improve productivity in mail order fulfilment and primary packing solutions.
Features such as secure bag opening and positioning, integrated label printing and compact footprints makes the Autobag® range an essential part of any efficient fulfilment operation.
E-commerce retailers and 3PLs will be particularly interested to see SEALED AIR® brand Korrvu® suspension and retention packaging in action. Quick, cost effective and easy to use, Korrvu® packaging uses minimal materials for effective protection and optimum presentation, without the need for void fill materials.
The PPMA Show 2021 is the leading UK event for processing and packaging machinery, robotics and automation. It takes place 28th – 30th September at NEC, Birmingham, UK. Click or tap here to register to attend.
Food manufacturing workwear & laundry services company, Elis UK, announces net zero carbon emissions target
Leading workwear and laundry services provider for the food manufacturing sector, Elis UK, has announced that it is aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2045, in line with the UK government’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050.
The company provides workwear and laundry services, as well as washroom services, to businesses of all sizes in the food manufacturing sector. It is the first laundry and textile services company in the UK to make a net zero commitment.
Elis rents its workwear to its customers, collecting used items, undertaking their laundry and any necessary maintenance, before returning them. Its circular economy approach, including the maintenance of textiles, to help ensure they are used for longer, its focus on designing waste out, its use of the latest technology and highly efficient Hycare industrial laundries, means that it is already providing its customers with a lower carbon footprint option.
The company’s new commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2045 is the natural next step. It builds on Elis’s ambitious 2025 commitments, which include accelerating its development of innovative and responsible products and services, reducing its environmental footprint, and ensuring that it has a positive impact on its people and communities.
The commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 covers all emissions, including direct emissions from its operations, indirect emissions linked to the energy used in its operations and all other emissions linked to its activities.
The company is investing in its operations, processes, logistics and supply chain to achieve its objective.
Mark Franklin, Company Operations Director for Elis UK, explains: “Our customers are increasingly concerned about sustainability and climate change in their own operations and in their supply chains, just as we are at Elis.
“Announcing both our intent to attain net zero carbon emissions and the timescale we are targeting, makes us the first laundry and textile services company in the UK to make such a commitment. We’re looking forward to working with both customers and suppliers to meet this challenging objective.”
More global food giants and retailers join Foundation Earth as eco-labelling drive gathers pace
Global food and drink giants PepsiCo, Danone and Starbucks have teamed up with retailers Tesco, Lidl, Waitrose, Aldi and Morrisons in joining the Foundation Earth industry advisory group, as moves to issue front-of-pack environmental scores gather pace.
The new additions to the group, which already includes Nestlé, Tyson, Co-op, Sainsbury’s and M&S, have signed up to help Foundation Earth develop an optimum environmental scoring system to be rolled out at scale across Europe.
The non-profit organisation Foundation Earth, which launched in June, has also named Cliona Howie as its first Executive Director and confirmed its headquarters will be split between the UK and Spain.
PepsiCo’s Gloria Gabellini said: “We believe that consumers have the right to transparency from producers, and we want to give them easy-to-understand information to help them make sustainable choices. For PepsiCo as a producer, it is important that environmental labelling encourages practices that are positive for our planet.
“We see great potential in Foundation Earth’s initiatives and we want to be an active part of this journey.”
Work will begin next month to bring together the best of the world’s two leading systems for measuring and communicating food and drink’s environmental impact.
The Enviroscore method was developed by KU Leuven and AZTI, the Spanish scientific and technological centre, in an EIT Food project framework. The Eco-Impact method was developed by Mondra and born out of research from Oxford University academics. They will both begin to be piloted this Autumn.
The Eco-Impact and Enviroscore systems are unique globally, in that they both allow two products of the same type to be compared on their individual merits via a complete product life cycle analysis, as opposed to simply using secondary data to estimate the environmental impact of an entire product group.
Foundation Earth was the brainchild of Denis Lynn, the Northern Irish food entrepreneur who tragically died earlier this year in a freak quadbike accident. Its launch has been welcomed by the UK Government, official opposition and leading figures in Brussels.
Cliona Howie has been named by the Foundation as Executive Director. She joins from the European Union’s climate change innovation initiative, EIT Climate-KIC, where she was head of circular economy. She said: “After many years building long-term, strategic circular economy partnerships, plans and strategies, I couldn’t be more excited to join Foundation Earth’s as its new CEO.
“Collaboration is fundamental if we are to tackle the global climate crisis and Foundation Earth has demonstrated that major industry players are committed to real change in order to provide society with a simple, trusted system for everyday food choices.
“This bold commitment to a true farm to fork initiative that can drive change at both production and consumption ends in the value chain thus simultaneously stimulating what we call systemic transformation and pioneering a more circular society. Consumers will finally be able to quickly and simply understand the impact linked to their food choices.
“Momentum is building quickly at Foundation Earth. With our partners, we will seek to scale what has already started to bring current, science based information to the market and consumers in an innovative and credible way all across Europe.”
Former UK cabinet minister Chris Grayling MP, who currently has a private members bill in the House of Commons calling for environmental labelling of food and drink products, said: “Environmental labelling of food products is long overdue and something I have been calling for now for some time.
“Consumers need clear and credible information they can trust so they can make more sustainable buying choices. I am delighted to support the launch of Foundation Earth, which is championing a really innovative proposal, has brought together the leading experts and has secured support from major food industry players across Europe that will be essential to driving this agenda.
“I applaud the companies that are taking part in the pilot launch this Autumn and hope it will prove to be a really positive step in the right direction. To build a more sustainable planet, reduce carbon emissions and minimise biodiversity loss we must build a more sustainable food industry. Foundation Earth’s front-of-pack scoring system provides us with the potential to drive positive change in a commercially viable way.”
Tyson Foods invests in new Virginia cooking plant
Tyson Foods will invest $300 million to build a new, fully-cooked plant in Danville, Virginia, company officials announced today.
The project is part of the company’s commitment to meet increasing demand and deliver on its strategy of accelerating long-term growth. The new facility is expected to create nearly 400 jobs when production begins in the spring of 2023.
“As consumers actively look to add more protein to their diets, Tyson is uniquely positioned as a category leader to meet that growing demand,” said Noelle O’Mara, President, Prepared Foods for Tyson Foods.
“Our continued focus on consumer driven innovation will accelerate this momentum and our investment in Danville-Pittsylvania County will help drive the long-term growth of the iconic Tyson brand.”
The company will construct a 325,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, primarily for the production of premium quality, fully-cooked Tyson branded chicken products, including Any’tizer Snacks and Chicken Nuggets.
The company has committed to purchase 60 million pounds of Virginia-grown chicken over the next three years.
The facility will be built in Cane Creek Centre, an industrial park jointly owned by the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County.
Household food waste rising as restrictions relaxed
Self-reported food waste has rebounded to pre-lockdown levels as restrictions lift, and more food is potentially going to waste in UK homes as life returns to normal.
The findings come from the ‘UK Food Trends Survey’ from Love Food Hate Waste; the campaign delivered by environmental charity WRAP and is a snapshot of the UK’s food behaviours post-lockdown, from the longest-running survey of its kind.
Love Food Hate Waste found that during lockdown many more people adopted positive food management behaviours that prevent food from going to waste – initially prompted by concerns about food availability and going out shopping.
Almost four in five people took up an average of 6.7 new food management behaviours, which caused a sharp drop in self-reported food waste during the first lockdown.
Across the four key foods monitored, levels of bread, chicken, milk and potato waste fell from nearly a quarter of all items purchased (November 2019) to 13.7% in April 2020. That was a 43% reduction in food waste.
Levels of waste bounced back slightly in June 2020 but were still 26% lower than in 2019 by the end of 2020. The latest survey shows a spike in reported food waste coinciding with lockdown restrictions easing in June/July.
In July food waste was on par with pre-pandemic levels at 19.7%, with three in 10 people once again falling into the category of “high food waste” – up from 20% in April last year.
The survey suggests this rise is due to two overarching factors: firstly, we’re dropping the new habits we adopted as time pressures return. Of the skills we took up during lockdown, freezing, using up leftovers and batch cooking were reportedly the most useful.
But these same habits are the ones most at risk of being dropped (as is as meal-planning) as we become more time poor – which 44% or people report feeling. Secondly, more people are eating out or buying takeaways meaning the food we intended to eat at home is replaced by a meal or take-out and can end up going to waste.
Love Food Hate Waste found a significant spike in the number of meals delivered or eaten outside the home corresponding with people reporting wasting more food. On average, we ate 7.6 takeaways or out-of-home meals in the past month, compared to 6 in September 2020.
Now Love Food Hate Waste warns that taking our focus off food could hugely undermine the UK’s recent success in reducing its household food waste.
In the year of COP26 – and stark warnings from the IPCC – this could put the UK on the wrong trajectory. Love Food Hate Waste is asking everyone to remember that Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change.
Sarah Clayton, Head of Citizen Behaviour Change WRAP, “One of the few positives of this extraordinary time has been people taking up new habits that prevent food from going to waste. We’ve seen more people getting creative with their cooking; using up ingredients and leftovers. More of us have taken to checking cupboards and fridges before we shop, using our freezers and even batch cooking.
“And people tell us they have found these habits extremely helpful. But the return of busy lifestyles means we are falling back into our old ways, and that risks these key skills not being used. After the shocking news from the IPCC this month, it is imperative we remember that wasting food feeds climate change and most food waste happens in the home.
“Preventing food waste is one way we can all reduce the impacts our diets have on the environment, and fight climate change as individuals.”
To help reverse this spike in self-reported food waste, Love Food Hate Waste and WRAP want more businesses and signatories to Courtauld Commitment 2030 to support its focus on household food waste – the largest contributor to the UK’s 9.5 million tonnes of food waste (post farm gate).
WRAP wants to galvanise support from retailers, food producers and manufacturers, local authorities, and community groups to support Love Food Hate Waste and ensure the positive food management behaviours people adopted become the ‘new normal’, not a lockdown footnote.
Mettler-Toledo announces Open House at new Global Centre of Excellence
Food and pharmaceutical manufacturers and co-packers can attend the Product Inspection Open House at the new Global Headquarters for x-ray in person or virtually, participating in a range of seminars, technology demonstrations and consultation sessions.
Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection will showcase new product inspection technologies, offer opportunities for face-to-face and virtual consultations, and deliver educational seminar content, at an Open House event which will officially open the new Global Centre of Excellence for x-ray in Royston, Hertfordshire.
Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection’s new x-ray manufacturing facility in Royston, Hertfordshire sets the business up for continued expansion over the next decade and more.
Set across a 1.4-hectare site, it expands the company’s UK manufacturing footprint by more than 80%, enabling multiple development projects to be handled simultaneously.
The facility will also help to expand the customer experience, with new factory acceptance testing rooms and a production observation area.
The COVID-safe event will take place over 6th and 7th October 2021, giving brand owners, manufacturers and contract packers in food and pharmaceuticals the opportunity to experience the latest innovations and best practice in x-ray, metal detection, checkweighing and vision inspection, as well as discussing their specific product inspection needs and challenges with a Mettler-Toledo expert.
Manufacturers and contract packers can book a free personalised 1-2-1 consultation, either virtually or in-person, enabling their teams to tap into Mettler-Toledo’s expert knowledge of areas such as compliance, product safety and digitalisation.
Mettler-Toledo’s latest product innovations will take centre stage, with 1-2-1 customised live demonstrations of a new metal detection system, a new x-ray inspection machine as well as the latest C33 Series checkweighers with FlashCell™ load cells and demonstrations of our vision inspection solutions and ProdX™ data management software.
The event will also include two educational seminars, both running at 8am and 2pm (BST) on their respective days:
Wednesday 6th October
How Product Inspection Innovations Improve Food Safety and Automate Quality Processes for Contract Packers – co-hosted with ECPA, featuring Ton Knipscheer of the European Co-Packers Association (ECPA); Rob Rogers, Senior Advisor Food Safety & Regulation and Niall McRory, Global Key Account Manager both from Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection.
Thursday 7th October
Good Inspection Practice: 6 Steps to Preventing Physical Contamination – co-hosted with BRCGS, featuring John Figgins, Senior Technical Manager from the BRCGS; Ian Robertshaw, Global Key Account Manager and Adam Green, Market Manager both from Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection.
“We are really excited to officially open and showcase our new Global Centre of Excellence for x-ray inspection at our Product Inspection Open House event,” said Niall McRory, Global Key Account Manager at Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection.
“The new Global Headquarters has been specifically designed to become Mettler-Toledo’s main hub for x-ray research and development plus manufacturing x-ray innovations.
“The significant investment we have made into developing the x-ray business is part of our strategic business development plans and is in response to customer demands for us to continually design x-ray inspection technologies to improve packaged product safety.”
He added: “Meeting customers and prospects face-to-face has obviously been difficult over the last year and a half, and we are very much looking forward to interacting with them again at our October Open House event, either in person at our new Global Centre of Excellence or virtually.
“We’ve got a lot of game-changing new innovations to show them, as well as some inspirational educational opportunities to share. The challenges of product safety and operational efficiency remain front and centre for every manufacturer, and that’s where our focus will be during this event.
“Whether they are in food or pharma, there will be something for every customer and prospect at the Open House, so we hope they will mark the dates in their diaries.”
Click or tap here to find out more information.
New additions to the Measom Freer collection
Measom Freer’s range of Tube Bottles are ideal for a variety of markets, stocked in fully recyclable PVC and MDPE they come in Four new sizes with four different necks.
There is a 21ml (6018V in PVC) & 100ml (6120 in natural MDPE) , 125ml (6213) and 250ml (6214) in PVC and MDPE.
A new size, 750ml (6081), has also been added to the popular Metric range, stocked in recyclable clear PVC and is also available in PETG & colours to order.
This range comes in 18 sizes ranging from 2.5ml to 1 Litre with a wide range of caps, closures and pumps available to suit.
Whether you are looking for a standard screw cap, dropper caps for more precise dosing or a more functional gel or spray pump, they have a huge variety of recyclable closures available from stock. Including the new 24mm neck Trigger Spray available to order in White, Black or Clear PP with dip tubes to suit their bottles.
Customers can order direct from stock on their E-commerce website for fast, efficient delivery, with a minimum order of a single box. Measom Freer have been manufacturing plastic bottles and packaging at their factory in Leicester since 1937.