Environmentally Sustainable Business Practices
Sustainability has been high on the agenda for many businesses, both large and small for some time now. An increasing number of businesses are ‘going green’, and have embraced a sustainability strategy. The aim being to mitigate the impact of their operations on the environment.
But why has this become a hot topic lately?
Now more so than ever, people are becoming aware of the impact that we have on the environment. From increasing demand for natural resources, to tackling climate change, it’s become clear that we need to act now to safeguard the future. Therefore, it’s imperative that businesses play their part and address their own impact and responsibilities.
The Food and Drink Industry
The Food and Drink Industry is a key player in tackling climate change. It’s also an industry which HPS is closely involved in, as it is one of the main users of pigging technology.
The industry is represented by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), who act as the voice of the largest manufacturing sector. They are committed to making a significant contribution to improving the environment.
Ambition ‘2025’
This can be demonstrated by The Food and Drink Federation ‘Ambition 2025’, which is their most recent initiative. This includes ambitious new environmental targets. They have pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2025. Another key commitment is to reduce water use across whole supply chains by 20% by 2020.
‘Ambition 2025’ is the next step in delivering a more sustainable food system into the future. It also emphasises the “growing commitment of the Food and Drink sector to help with improving resource efficiencies, and addressing the wider sustainability agenda”.
The Wider Context- Sustainability Becoming Essential
So, sustainability is extremely important but why?
Sustainability is about long-term thinking and planning.
We need to consider that the world population is rising, and the demand for water is also increasing rapidly. This subsequently places huge pressure on freshwater supplies. Water scarcity is becoming an extensive problem throughout the world, and is likely to get worse.
Obviously, food and drink play an integral role in our daily lives. However, in the long run feeding the growing population will only be possible if we change the way we produce and consume food. The production and consumption of food is one of the main pressures of our planet’s natural resources. However, these resources are limited and have become increasingly vulnerable.
Food Wastage
It isn’t helped by the fact that a large proportion of food goes to waste. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, we currently waste around a third of all food produced globally each year. This has substantial greenhouse gas impacts. It also wastes unnecessary resources that are used in the production.
Sustainability has never been more important. That’s why businesses need to act quickly. It is fundamental that they take an active role in promoting green and sustainable business practices across the whole supply chain.
But, the big question is, how can this be achieved?
Sustainability Goals Achieved through Pigging
Food and drink manufacturers are leading the way in sustainability. Many have implemented initiatives throughout their business, to help reduce waste and their water consumption. Often this involves utilising Product Recovery Technology (also known as Pigging).
Pigging has a wide range of benefits for companies that process food and liquids. A pigging system provided by HPS is a quick and easy way to significantly reduce wastage (recovering up to 99.5% of liquid), that would otherwise be flushed away.
Pigging Saves Resources, Water and Energy
As well as increasing yields, pigging makes cleaning a lot easier, as most of the product has already been removed with a pig. Water usage is also greatly reduced, as the requirement to flush out the product residue in the pipeline with water is less. By saving water, energy and resources, pigging helps businesses towards their sustainability goals.
Hygienic and sanitary product recovery systems also increase profits, efficiency and deliver a high return on investment (ROI). What’s more, an HPS pigging system typically pays for itself extremely quickly and usually within twelve months.
Find Out More
HPS Product Recovery Solutions is a global leader in liquid product recovery, transfer and hygienic and sanitary pigging systems.
To find out more about pigging, and how it can help increase sustainability in Food and Drink manufacturing, please contact HPS or your nearest representative.
Click Here to Download our FREE guide to Hygienic Pigging for Food and Beverage Companies >>