Water efficiency could spell savings
August 1st 2007 Envirowise's Dr Stuart Ballinger urges food and drink companies to examine the true extent of their water usage to secure their share of £60 million potential cost savings each year.1
ith drought orders affecting parts of the UK just 12 months ago and now extreme rainfall taking its toll, optimising a key business process such as water management could help food and drink firms better handle the impact of climate change.
Those in meat, fruit and vegetable processing, or dairy and beverage manufacture, where water usage is particularly high, could have most to gain from optimising their water efficiency.
The recently released Food Industry Sustainability Strategy (FISS) has proposed a target for the reduction of water use across the food and drink industry by 20% between now and 2020. It is estimated that this voluntary target could result in an annual saving to the industry of £60 million.2 To help companies take action, Envirowise is currently recruiting for new participants of their Big Splash water efficiency campaign.This provides businesses with access to free specialist advice,workshops and interactive online tools, as well as confidential telephone support.
Bronwen Jones, head of Defra's Food Chain Programme of which the FISS is a part, says:"We welcome recent action taken by major food & drink retailers to launch their own sustainability initiatives and hope that water efficiency forms a key part of this activity.Taking part in the Envirowise Big Splash campaign could be an excellent step for those wanting to develop a robust, systematic approach to water efficiency." According to this latest report from the FISS Champions'Group on water, collecting data on water use is a fundamental stage.This should include carrying out an audit of the total amount of water being used to produce and process a product; this is often described as the 'embedded' water content. For example, it is estimated that a single 220ml serving of orange juice may have used 170 litres during its manufacture, a pint of beer 200 litres, and an egg 135 litres.3 Faced with the threat of rising utility costs and continued weather extremes, businesses must adapt now in order to lessen the impact of climate change on their operations, wherever possible.Those who grasp this situation as an opportunity to innovate and invest in new approaches could find themselves running a leaner, more competitive operation that is well-equipped for future challenges.
To support industry in making this step-change Defra and HM Revenue and Customs, in partnership with Envirowise, run the Water Technology List (WTL) as part of the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme.This enables businesses to claim 100% first year capital allowances on investments made in water efficient WTL products.
Food & drink companies can find more on water efficiency by visiting www.envirowise.gov.uk/bigsplash or by calling the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794. Further information on the Water Technology List is available at www.eca-water.gov.uk Envirowise is also holding a national event in February 2008 offering food and drink businesses free advice about improving business sustainability, which will include workshops on water efficiency. Further information about FEED can be found at www.envirowise.gov.uk/feed2008.
1. & 2. FISS Champions'Group report on Water, May 2007 http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/polic y/sustain/fiss/index.htm Review site: http://defrafiss.dialoguebydesign.ne t/ 3) Waterwise: Hidden Waters report 2007 www.waterwise.org.uk/reducing_wa ter_wastage_in_the_uk/the_facts/e mbedded_water.html More articles from Envirowise: | 
