Food and beverage demand is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
Manufacturers are under intense pressure to meet ever-growing demand from regulators and consumers – and – will need to nourish a global population that is projected to rise from 7.8 billion in 2020 to 9.7 billion in 2050. With this demand comes a heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Effective energy management is now a business necessity, and all eyes are on industry to address its responsibility for the depletion of fossil fuels and the emission of carbon dioxide in food and beverage plants. The pressure on food and beverage companies to maximise resources has never been greater.
“It is more important than ever to accelerate the sustainable transformation of food and drink factories,” Latif Faiyaz, head of flexible purchasing & energy strategy at Northern Gas and Power.
Greener and More Sustainable
Shareholders and stakeholders in the supply chain, such as the supermarkets, are putting pressure on food and drink factories to become greener and more sustainable.
“The reality is, it is a win-win for all parties,” notes Faiyaz. “Reducing waste, increasing efficiency help lower the bottom line for any business, they so happen to boost the environmental credentials as well. If the food and beverage sector looks at this as an opportunity to increase its value, it can see it is also ideal for people, planet and profit.”
Developing energy efficiency strategies is crucial. Energy efficiency initiatives enable industries such as food and beverage to reduce their consumption and improve their operational output, thereby improving their benefits to clients.
Energy efficiency
The good news is that these companies can lead the way in energy efficiency. “Companies first need to measure where their energy is used,” says Latif Faiyaz. “Once you have visibility of what the causes are for energy consumption, eg a specific process or piece of machinery, it is then easier to identify what efficiencies can be found for that particular consumption”.
Reducing Costs
By way of further example, Faiyaz says if a boiler takes 60 per cent of the gas consumption, it makes sense to focus on how that can be made more efficient, either a new boiler, combined heat or power unit, or an alternative to natural gas, such as food waste or development of hydrogen to truly cut emissions. This also has the added bonus of reducing costs.
Green Credentials
“By taking the biggest consumer, you boost not only the efficiency, but the cost, and the green credentials of the business,” Faiyaz adds.
Renewable sources Energy conservation is vital for the sustainable development of the food and beverage industry.
Savings could be as little as a few per cent, to over 40 per cent in savings in year one, according to Faiyaz. Such is the plethora of technologies available. Variable speed drives for motors typically have a sub one year payback. However solar PV typically has a payback of around eight years.
Each site is unique, therefore there is no one size fits all solution, neither is there one financing of these solutions.
The food and beverage processing industry has the potential to integrate the use of renewable energy sources to reduce pollution and waste generation, and so reduce overall costs.
Renewable energy
Producing energy on-site is the best means to reduce costs. Renewable energy such as solar on the roof or the car park is the ideal way to utilise those spaces. Vertical wind turbines are also commercially viable, but produce little energy.
Anaerobic digestion plants are a viable source for power and gas supplies but require a large amount of organic waste to fuel them. Hydrogen production is the next generation that will replace gas fired CHPs, however this market is very much embryonic.
Geothermal power from an abandoned coal mine is the most robust way to extract heat for the long term, however such projects are incredibly costly and take time to develop, but will last more than 50 years.
Greater Profit
It’s clear business-as-usual operating costs – including energy – is no longer acceptable. An accessible path to greater profit is balancing profitability and sustainability and transforming challenges into opportunities.
The constant quest to decrease costs and increase tight margins – while serving a growing population and meeting increasing demands from consumers and regulators – is weighing on the food and beverage industry. The technology to cut energy costs, reduce energy consumption, boost operational performance, and extend equipment longevity exists. It’s just a question of whether or not companies choose to leverage it – and improve the sustainability of food production.
