Green energy and waste valorization drive business climate strategies

04 Jun 2024 --- One of the foremost strategies of companies driven to switch to environmentally sustainable production is developing an airtight climate plan similar to a chapter of their overall business plan. In the second installation of our climate-positive production report, Bioiberica and FrieslandCampina Ingredients share details of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions operational designs for reining in near-term climate targets.

“Our goal is to reinforce our environmental and sustainability plans throughout the business, including training and internal communication plans. It’s imperative that we live and breathe sustainability throughout our business, but also in the lives of our employees — this is key to ensure that our production is as climate-positive as possible,” Luis Solera, CEO at Bioiberica, tells Nutrition Insight.

The company evaluates which climate factors to prioritize annually based on a risk analysis and data provided through its integrated management system. “This system evaluates our environmental impact and identifies areas of improvement year on year, assessing key factors such as energy consumption, water, waste and more to help us make informed decisions about which area we need to focus on the most.”

“Big challenges like this are always complicated to some degree. However, the very nature of our business — developing high-value ingredients from byproducts through a vertically integrated supply chain — does give us an advantage compared with other manufacturers,” says Solera.

For example, logistics partners who align with their sustainability goals handle transporting raw materials to their factories. In addition, the procurement team aligns its methods with the company’s values.

Making climate plans
FrieslandCampina Ingredients published its climate plan, “On the way to climate-neutral dairy,”  as part of its integrated Nourishing a Better Planet sustainability program. The plan details the company’s goals to produce net climate-neutral dairy by 2050. The company will reduce emissions as much as possible and compensate for what it cannot reduce. 

“This is an ambitious goal. To achieve it, we have developed a roadmap including short and medium-term targets to reduce our emissions across our scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2030,” says Kyle Brookmeyer, head of sustainability at FrieslandCampina Ingredients.Companies invested in climate-positive production prioritize green energy.

“These targets include a 63% reduction of GHG emissions in our global production chain and our milk transport chain in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, as well as a 33% reduction of GHG emissions from milk production on member dairy farms.”

The company reduces its emissions through energy saving, electrification, switching to renewables, initiatives to minimize remaining emissions and compensating for any residual emissions that cannot be reduced directly. “To maximize our impact, our core mission centers on minimizing emissions within our own sphere to ensure long-term and meaningful change,” Brookmeyer says.

“As part of this, we work directly with our member farmers to make an impact. For example, initiatives we’ve implemented on our farms include the addition of feed additives to cattle feed to reduce methane emissions. Many of our member farmers also make use of our unique and advanced biodiversity monitor, which tracks key performance indicators (KPIs) on the farm and makes recommendations tailored to their business.” 

Tech leads the way
Bioiberica leans substantially into the fast-paced advancement of technology to tap into new, dynamic tools and techniques that reinforce its sustainability philosophy. “For example, our engineering department recently upgraded our water pumps to make them more energy-efficient — and we’re always looking for the latest advancements in the equipment we use to ultimately reduce our energy consumption,” Solera explains.

The company views the process toward climate-positive production as holistic, involving all people in the business. “It is something everyone in the company has to want to do and the business leaders need to all get behind it. It involves all individuals within the business following good practices regarding the environment and investing time and money into bettering these practices.”

Solera believes complete integration across the company is the key to success, but it remains the biggest challenge because it requires everyone’s participation. Bioiberica is working to increase awareness of the importance of sustainability. 

He notes: “Going forward, we are continuing to work on diverse aspects of climate-positive production, including reusing water, improving energy efficiency and minimizing waste. We’re currently increasing our use of regenerated water with the latest equipment and harnessing new advancements in technology, and we’re looking to increase our efficiency when it comes to energy usage and consumption.” The goal of business is to extract all of its electricity consumption from renewables.

The company continuously moves toward green electricity sources to reduce its carbon footprint. It sends its waste to appropriate valorization or treatment plants to ensure it is correctly managed, along with efforts to reduce the quantity of waste it produces.

Carbon and nitrogen cycles
Green energy is a top priority for many companies, especially given the call at COP28 last year about the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy to ensure that global warming remains below 1.5°C. FrieslandCampina Ingredients transitioned to green electricity in 2020 and adopted measures to cut water consumption by 20% at its production facilities by 2025.

“We run a range of large-scale green energy projects on our member farms, helping them produce energy via solar, wind and manure digesters. This means our member farmers are not just dairy farmers — they’re energy farmers too,” Brookmeyer explains. 

“As of last year, more than 3,300 of our members now supply green electricity and 100% of the electricity consumption required for our production is renewable, with 50% coming from our member dairy farmers.”

Using its biodiversity monitor, FrieslandCampina Ingredients’ member farmers track KPIs such as soil nitrogen balance and ammonia emissions. This allows it to measure total GHG emissions in grams of CO2 per kg of milk per hectare.

Brookmeyer notes: “This isn’t just about providing habitats for animals and insects — biodiversity loss and climate change are inextricably linked.” 

“Promoting natural ecosystems supports the maintenance of carbon sinks like trees and healthy soil. Soil, for example, is essential for helping regulate the atmosphere and plays a crucial role in driving the carbon and nitrogen cycles.” 

“But the action doesn’t stop at the farm level. We’re also dedicated to reducing carbon emissions produced by our production sites, investing in green energy, reducing waste and implementing energy management systems to help us make efficiencies and reduce carbon emissions as a result,” says Brookmeyer.

By Inga de Jong