 Background
At United Biscuits (UB) we know that improving sustainability is good sense for our consumers, customers, employees and for the business:
- Our consumers want to buy from companies that minimise damage to the environment
- Our customers want to minimise their damage to the environment and look to their suppliers for help
- As individuals we all have personal responsibility to look after the planet on which we live
- Improving sustainability means improving our efficiency as a business (Green is Lean!)
Reducing the amount of carbon emissions and energy use is a key sustainability goal – made even more important by the recent rise in the cost of raw materials.
How the issue was tackled
UB is reducing CO2 emissions by using energy efficiently, reducing waste and exploring the viable use of alternative energy.
It is increasing the efficiency of existing manufacturing equipment such as oven burners and fryers to reduce energy consumption where possible and use energy more efficiently. Recovery and re-use of heat once wasted means that every effort is made to make the best use of energy.
UB is also testing, developing and installing new oven burners, which will see a massive reduction of energy used at its Harlesden, North London biscuit factory. After successful completion at Harlesden, the new burners will then be rolled out to a further five factories over the next three years, contributing to the company's target of reducing CO2 emissions.
UB actively encourages its employees to play their part in reducing unnecessary energy usage. Targeted internal campaigns are designed to raise awareness about the need for energy conservation and staff in offices are encouraged to switch off unused computers.
To maintain our carbon emission reduction momentum, we have recently launched a sustainability manifesto that includes the following goal: that we achieve a 35% reduction in UK carbon emissions by 2020 compared to 1995.
Benefits and impacts
We have made major progress in reducing UK carbon emissions by 24% since 1995. This has been achieved by a range of measures including:
- Consolidation of production and logistics onto fewer sites, producing more with fewer assets and reducing the space that we need to heat and light (this saving excludes businesses that were sold during this period)
- Investment to make better use of plant and equipment to increase productivity
- Removal and replacement of inefficient machinery
Advice to others
Identify opportunities to reduce energy and where possible re-use energy, e.g. heat that would otherwise be wasted.
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