With its ambitious climate protection strategy, the KHS Group is steadily driving the reduction in its carbon emissions. One key milestone here is its recent validation by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). On this basis, the company is now implementing specific measures to cut emissions.
Following confirmation by the SBTi of the climate goals it shares with parent company Salzgitter AG, the Dortmund systems supplier has set itself a number of ambitious targets. For example, it has now pledged to reduce its direct and indirect Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 36 % in the near future – by 2028. Moreover, the emissions generated throughout its entire value chain (Scope 3) are to drop by 20 %. “Our responsibility goes beyond our own production plants. We supply our customers with holistic solutions that measurably improve their climate footprint,” says Kai Acker, CEO of KHS GmbH.
The key: efficient and renewable energies
KHS has already fully converted to green electricity at all of its German production sites and is continuously optimising its infrastructure. Measures such as efficient heating and lighting systems, use of waste heat, heat-efficient factory doors and intelligent building automation have in part already been implemented. At the company headquarters in Dortmund, Germany, for instance, modern, sensor-controlled LED technology is cutting electricity consumption. Parallel to this, the vehicle fleet is being switched over to electric models. KHS is also replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy: for the plants in Dortmund and Worms, the engineering company is even planning to introduce its own heating networks in order to do away completely with gas and oil. In addition, photovoltaic systems at various German facilities are helping to reduce the amount of energy and CO2 consumed. Further PV setups are also in the pipeline at KHS’ international locations.
Innovations for more climate-friendly production
Besides cutting its own carbon emissions, KHS is also helping its customers to cut theirs. One good example of this is the new generation of InnoPET Blomax stretch blow molders. With its optimised Double Gate heating system, it lowers energy consumption by up to 40 % compared to single-lane stretch blow molders of the same capacity. The Innopas SX pasteuriser considerably reduces water consumption by making use of optimised heat recovery systems. Furthermore, KHS’ Bottles & Shapes™ service enables extremely light PET bottles to be designed that use less material. This means that customers save on precious resources.
Net zero by 2050 at the latest
Above and beyond its short-term targets, together with Salzgitter AG KHS pledges to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, with this date even brought forward to 2045 as regards its Scope 1 and 2 emissions. “The next few years are key to us firmly staying the course we’ve embarked on and becoming climate-neutral in production in the long term,” says Acker. “I’m absolutely convinced that we’ll meet our ambitious climate goals.”
Following successful commercial consumer testing in 2022, Tetra Pak and Lactogal have now launched an aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier. This is part of a large-scale technology validation, involving around 25 million packages and currently ongoing in Portugal. Made of approximately 80 % paperboard, the package increases the renewable content to 90 %, reduces its carbon footprint by one third (33 %1) and has been certified as Carbon Neutral by the Carbon Trust™.2
Greenhouse gas emissions, food waste and plastic littering are cited as the top three environmental sustainability concerns facing food and beverage (F&B) businesses today, and this is expected to remain the case over the next five years.3 Packaging solutions like these, that expand the amount of paper and lower the carbon footprint, while ensuring food safety, can help the industry overcome these challenges.
In 2015, Tetra Pak was the first in the industry to introduce a package made fully from plant-based renewable materials – paperboard and sugarcane-based plastic. The Tetra Rex® Plant-based package, suitable for cold chain distribution, is fully renewable, and the company has delivered approximately 6.5 billion of these packages to customers around the world to date.
Now, the launch of the Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton with paper-based barrier, together with Lactogal, provides a package that can be distributed under ambient conditions, while hitting the 90% renewable content mark. This brings Tetra Pak one step closer to its ambition of a beverage carton made solely from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable and carbon neutral. The company is aiming for industrial scale production of the solution by 2025.
1Certified by the Carbon Trust™ – benchmark: Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton package with aluminium foil layer.
2“Carbon neutral” means that, after reducing the CO2 emissions by converting the package’s fossil-based polymers into plant-based polymers to the highest possible extent, the residual CO2 emissions associated with the packaging manufacture are offset by funding Gold Standard-certified climate projects around the world.
3Tetra Pak B2B research on Planetary Challenges and their impact on F&B manufacturers’ operations (2023).
Leading soft drinks business, Britvic, is redoubling its efforts to cut carbon emissions and save energy – with £8 million of investment to improve efficiency at its London factory.
The project, which kicks off this year at its Beckton site, will see the installation of a new heat recovery system – cutting factory emissions by an estimated 1,200 tonnes annually – equivalent to the annual energy usage of around 500 UK homes.
Part funded by a £4.4 million government grant from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the new heat recovery system will see the soft drink manufacturer switching its heating from natural gas boilers to carbon free heat extractors.
Nigel Paine, Supply Chain Director, added: “At our Beckton site we produce 2,000 drinks every minute – including many of the nation’s favourites such as Robinsons, Tango and Pepsi MAX. We are constantly looking at ways to improve the way we create these products and I’m delighted that, as well as our own funds, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will be supporting us too. It means we can continue to supply the nation with great tasting drinks, while reducing our carbon footprint.”
With the help of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, this heat recovery system will take waste heat recovered from our existing systems, increase the temperature and redistribute it around the site using a new low temperature hot water network, replacing our carbon intensive steam system. This will decarbonise 50 % of the site’s heat demand by shifting its heat source away from fossil fuels.
Sarah Webster, Director of Sustainable Business, at Britvic, said: “This major investment represents a significant milestone in our journey to reduce our scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions in service of our science-based targets, and our Healthier People Healthier Planet sustainability strategy. The support from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been integral to making this happen and it re-enforces our view that collaboration and partnership is critical to developing long-lasting meaningful solutions to protect the planet.”
With the project set to commence at the end of 2023, the move is a huge step towards Britvic’s commitment to reduce its direct emissions by 50 % by 2025 and to be net zero target by 2050, verified by the Science Based Target initiative. Britvic is making good progress having reduced its direct carbon emissions by 34 % since 2017.
