Kraft Foods’ manufacturing plant in Bahrain is making substantial headway towards its sustainability goals with a 25 per cent cut in energy consumption.

The plant, in its fifteen month operation, has achieved reductions (per ton) of 25 per cent in energy consumption, 50 per cent in water consumption and 16 per cent  in waste from 2008.

In 2009 the plant has targeted a further 5 per cent reduction based on its 2008 average, said a company official at a function to mark World Environment Day.

Officials from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Bahrain International Investment Park, in addition to Kraft Foods employees and business associates took part.

The state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Bahrain, which manufactures Kraft cheese products and Tang powdered beverages for distribution for the Middle East region operates within Kraft Food’s global sustainability strategy known as Better World.

Its sustainability priorities are categorized into key focus areas that include investing in renewable energy, recycling of waste water to reduce water consumption, recycling of waste material, and use of recyclable packaging materials.

“Kraft Foods is working to build a better world for our consumers and stakeholders,' said Andrew Trevis, plant director, Kraft Foods Bahrain.

'Our employees are helping us deliver on our sustainability commitments by discovering unique possibilities for positive change and spearheading key projects that are changing the way we operate, whilst protecting our business continuity,' he noted.

'What makes our sustainability projects unique is that they are being led by recently hired graduates, many of whom are local Bahraini nationals committed to making a positive impact in their local community.'

'We are proud to recognize that their efforts to reduce environmental footprint is being realized,' added Trevis.

The replacement of open skips with mobile compactors, and prudent decisions in selection of cleaning supplies have yielded remarkable results for a waste segregation and disposal project lead by the Sanitation team.

In 2008, as part of the sanitation project general solid waste was reduced by 246 per cent, and recycled waste from water and materials increased by 3 per cent in the year.

According to Trevis, water consumption was reduced up to 18 million liters per year and chemical consumption up to 11.5 tons liters per year.

In 2009, the project aims to achieve a 20 per cent reduction of general waste disposal, 20 per cent increase in recycled waste and 25 per cent reduction in liquid waste.

On the procurement front, efforts to reduce the amount of material going out into the environment have led to a conscious adherence to the 3R’s rule - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - thus ensuring that all packaging categories such as glass, paper, tin, metal caps and wooden material are completely recyclable.

The plant’s department of safety, security and environment ensures that all cleaning supplies used in the plant are in compliance with the regulations by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, and further efforts are under way to switch some of the plant’s processes from diesel to natural gas by August 2009 as a target.

Other mid term objectives include use of recycled waste water for irrigation and the installation of a power factor to reduce power consumption.

Paperless office

A paperless office project, which commenced in April 2009, is expected to result in a 30  per cent reduction in paper purchase, 40 per cent increase in use of recycled paper and a 30  per cent reduction in generated paper waste.

This not only reduces environmental footprint but results in financial cost savings related to purchasing, printing and disposal, Trevis pointed out.
 
T