Twenty-one of the UK's leading food and drink manufacturers have today signed an historic agreement to improve their water efficiency and thereby reduce water use. Once rolled out across the sector as a whole, the initiative could save some 140 million litres of water per day - equivalent to 56 Olympic-size swimming pools - and a combined financial saving of around £60m per year on water bills.
Under the Federation House Commitment, jointly developed by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and resource efficiency experts Envirowise, the first 21 signatories have pledged to review their on-site water use and take action to reduce this wherever possible.
The signatories are: apetito; Birds Eye Iglo; Britvic; Cadbury Schweppes; Coca-Cola Enterprises; GlaxoSmithKline; Kellogg Marketing & Sales Co; Kraft Foods UK; Mars Snackfood; Müller Dairy (UK); Nestlé UK; PepsiCo UK; Premier Foods; Tate & Lyle; UIN Foods; Unilever UK; Uniq; United Biscuits; Warburtons; Weetabix; and Young's Seafood. These companies generate a combined annual turnover of over £15 billion.
The Commitment will help FDF members to achieve their water reduction goals, as set out in the Federation's recently launched Five-fold Environmental Ambition. It will also be central to achieving the industry-wide target in the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy to reduce water use, outside of that embedded in products themselves, by 20% by 2020 compared to 2007.
Companies working with Envirowise will review their current water use and develop site specific action plans to significantly cut water use and costs within six months of signing up to the commitment. They will report annually to Envirowise on water and cost savings made on site. Envirowise will offer signatories a package of support measures to help them.
Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health, said:
"I am very pleased to support this joint FDF and Envirowise initiative which has resulted in the first voluntary framework under which food and drink companies can work systematically towards improving efficiency and reducing water use wherever possible. It is particularly pleasing to see so many influential companies, responsible for well known household brands, signing up on day one. I would like to urge more companies in the sector to follow the leadership and commitment being shown by FDF and its members to the environment."
Callton Young OBE, Director of Sustainability & Competitiveness, FDF said:
"Last October FDF chose to be bold about the environment by targeting priorities where we can make the biggest difference through collective action. Today's signing of the Federation House Commitment by many of our largest member companies is an important demonstration of this commitment and their desire to reduce the environmental impacts of our sector through the widespread adoption of water efficiency best practice. The leadership that they are bringing to bear on this important issue is to be applauded."
Dr Martin Gibson, Programme Director, Envirowise added:
"We are very pleased to have jointly developed The Federation House Commitment with FDF. The agreement has an important role to play in helping to improve water efficiency in the food and drink industry and to achieving significant savings of a precious resource. Envirowise worked on the strategic aims of the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy and we look forward to working with industry to help them achieve their water reduction goals."
Notes to Editors
- Companies interested in signing up to the Federation House Commitment can visit www.FHC2020.co.uk
- The Federation House Commitment is a major step towards the realisation of the FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition. Announced in October 2007, the goal is for FDF members to reduce their environmental impact in the key areas of carbon dioxide emissions, water, food waste, packaging, and food transport. The Commitment is open to any food and drink company - it will also be central to achieving the industry-wide target in the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy (FISS) to reduce water use, outside of that embedded in products themselves, by 20% by 2020 compared to 2007.
- Businesses signing the Federation House Commitment agree to engage fully with the Envirowise programme. The key elements of the Commitment - ‘five-steps to success' - are:
- The development of a 2007 baseline of water use for individual signatories and for the Commitment as a whole;
- Assessment of water use at each participating company's manufacturing site(s);
- The development of site specific action plans to reduce water use;
- Delivery against action plans;
- Annual reporting to Envirowise on water and cost savings.
Envirowise will provide support and advice to participating companies.
- FDF is the voice of the UK food and drink manufacturing industry, the UK's most important manufacturing sector. Visit www.fdf.org.uk for more information.
- Envirowise is a Government-funded programme dedicated to putting the sustainable use of resources at the heart of UK business practice. Since 1994 Envirowise has helped UK businesses save over £1 billion by enabling them to significantly reduce their environmental impact. Envirowise offers businesses of all sizes and sectors a wide range of free, independent and practical advice designed to genuinely improve their processes, profitability and competitiveness. Visit www.envirowise.gov.uk for more information.
- For more information about this press announcement please contact:
Envirowise press office (Mistral): 01689 352 722
Food and Drink Federation press office: 020 7420 7131 /32 /40
Messages of Support
"Whilst we know climate change is an urgent issue requiring urgent action, it is critical that business addresses the whole suite of sustainability issues. The Federation House Commitment is significant as it focuses attention and action on perhaps the next urgent sustainability issue - water. For the food and drink sector to achieve greater sustainability across all of its operations, we not only need individual company leadership, but also collective action. The scale of the sustainability challenge is such that individual company action alone won't be quick enough. FDF is setting a great example by providing its members with the framework to work together to get serious about water use and wider sustainability."
Sally Uren, Director of Business Programme, Forum for the Future
"The Federation House Commitment is a fantastic development. The combination of FDF's knowledge and influence in the food and drink sector, the commitment of its members, and the expertise of Envirowise, will translate into big water savings. The agreement makes excellent business sense and is great for the environment. We hope that other business sectors will follow the food and drink sector's lead."
Jacob Tompkins, Director of Waterwise
Federation House Commitment: Comments from Signatories
"It's easy to take water for granted - but it is a scarce and finite resource. It also requires energy and resources to collect, purify, distribute and clean up again after we've used it. As part of our sustainability strategy, apetito is delighted to work with FDF and Envirowise to focus on delivering a substantial reduction in water usage."
Paul Freeston, Chief Executive, apetitio ltd
"Water is a shared resource and its care demands collective responsibility. Without action by all users, demand for water will eventually outstrip potential supply particularly in areas of water stress. Much can be done to increase the availability of water by reducing consumption, minimising impact on water quality and reusing more water. Industry has an important role to play, by minimising the impact of its own operations and by working with its suppliers, accordingly. We at Birds Eye are playing our part and plan to do more."
Martin Glenn, Chief Executive, Birds Eye Iglo Ltd
"As an industry we have long recognised our responsibility to the environment and as a company we have worked hard to improve the sustainability of our operations. By working collectively with other manufacturers, and with the support of Envirowise, we can deliver even greater environmental improvements."
Paul Moody, Chief Executive, Britvic plc
"Coca-Cola Enterprises is already trying to minimize the environmental impact of its operations. We have already made significant progress in reducing the amount of waste water from our production process by 41% since 2001. We are proud to support the industry best practice commitment on water, through which we will reduce this amount further, and which supports our efforts to use water in a responsible and sustainable way."
Hubert Patricot, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd
"As makers of household drinks Ribena, Lucozade and Horlicks, GSK understands that water is a precious resource and we have a responsibility to conserve it. That's why we're delighted to sign up to the Federation House Commitment. As a business we are cutting the number of litres of water we use for each litre of product we make by 20% by 2010. We intend to keep sustainability at the centre of our renewal and growth. We know this makes good business sense - but we also know that it is the right and necessary way to do things."
Graham Neale, Senior VP and General Manager, GSK Nutritional Healthcare.
"As with health and wellbeing, we're committed to being in the leading pack for driving change within the industry. Kellogg's has been using recycled card for our packaging since Corn Flakes first started over 100 years ago. Using resources efficiently is a business imperative and will lead to commercial success as consumers demand this from manufacturers."
Greg Peterson, Managing Director Kellogg UK
"Water is precious to all and vital to our business. Having lost supplies to our offices during the floods of 2007, we know first-hand how it important it is to protect resources for the future."
Ben Clarke, Managing Director, Kraft
"At Mars we view water as a precious resource and have been working hard to reduce our usage, in fact we used 40% less in 2007 than we did in 2006. We are delighted to be signing The Federation House Commitment and are looking forward to working with Envirowise and FDF members to move the whole industry forward."
Fiona Dawson, Managing Director of Mars Snackfood UK and Chair of FDF's Sustainability and Competitiveness Steering Group
"We are committed to minimising the impact that our business has on the environment, and reducing water usage is one of a number of areas which we have been reviewing as part of this ongoing programme. The establishment of the Federation House Commitment provides an opportunity for us and other like-minded companies to work more closely in partnership with Envirowise, to share best practice and to tap into a wealth of expertise. This initiative has our full support and we look forward to participating in and contributing to the Envirowise programme."
Stewart Gilliland, Chief Executive of Müller® UK
"Effective water management programmes have long been a part of Nestlé's Environmental Management system. In the UK we are proud of the savings we have made through constant operational improvement, water treatment and education and communication around the issue. However, further progress increasingly depends on sharing best practice and working in cooperation with others. The Federation House Commitment is a clear sign that our fellow manufacturers also see collective action as critical and so we are very happy to be part of this public commitment to sustainable water management."
Alistair Sykes, Chairman, Nestlé UK Ltd
"Water is a precious resource. That is why PepsiCo has launched a partnership with the Earth Institute to improve access to clean water in communities in Africa, China, India and Brazil. It is also precious in the UK where using it sensibly and efficiently is increasingly a priority. Hence, PepsiCo's full support for the aims of the Federation House Commitment and its importance to the food and drink sector's long term sustainability."
Salman Amin, President, PepsiCo UK & Ireland
"Premier Foods is the UK's largest food manufacturer and, as such we are delighted to participate in this initiative and to do our bit towards conserving the environment. We have a number of projects already underway to recycle water and reduce our usage. Such actions make sense for our business and for the environment."
Robert Schofield, CEO, Premier Foods
"Reducing water usage is a key focus for us as we work towards minimising our impact on the environment. We are delighted to be a part of the Federation House Commitment and to work with other companies in the food and drink industry, and Envirowise, to improve water efficiency and so help protect this precious resource for the future."
Iain Ferguson CBE, CEO Tate & Lyle and FDF's President
"We are delighted to participate in the best water practice programme as we appreciate water is a valuable resource and by improving water efficiency, we can help protect the environment for the future."
Martin Bell, Managing Director, UIN Foods Ltd
"At Uniq we believe there remains a lot of opportunity to deliver savings in waste, resources and generally carrying out our activities in a sustainable manner while at the same time delivering value to shareholders."
Geoff Eaton, Chief Executive, Uniq plc
"We are very pleased to support The Federation House Commitment. As a company, we are not heavy users of water but this does not mean it is not important to reduce the amount we use. Reducing water use is one of UB's commitments in ‘Achieving Sustainability' and through specific conservation programmes we aim to achieve a 25% reduction in water use by 2020 compared with 2007."
David Fish, Executive Chairman, United Biscuits
"Warburtons demonstrates excellence in its products and consumers expect nothing less regarding our production methods. We see resource efficiency as an environmental imperative. We are therefore delighted to work with Envirowise to improve our water efficiency and thereby conserve a precious resource."
Ross Warburton MBE, Executive Director, Warburtons Ltd
"Weetabix has made a long-term commitment to preserving water supplies by signing up to the Federation House Commitment. It is refreshing to be part of an initiative that is prepared to quantify targets for the food industry and be scrutinised against those targets. Weetabix has been, and continues to be, fully committed to water reduction across all our manufacturing sites."
Ken Wood, CEO, The Weetabix Food Company
"The Federation's commitment to the best water practice programme is an initiative that we at Young's are delighted to support. As an industry, food processing can play an important part in improving the use of this precious resource. It is good business and is absolutely the right thing to do, for us, and for the environment."
Mike Parker, Deputy Chief Executive, Young's Seafood Ltd