Mars has made a commitment that includes all of their more than 135 global production sites: "Achieve a fully sustainable operation at all factories worldwide within a generation". This means by 2040, and would entail zero carbon footprint, zero waste to landfill and zero impact on water quality. Reaching this ambitious goal requires an annual reduction of 3% in each of the following areas: CO2 emissions, quantity of waste going to landfills and water consumption.
Reducing water consumption at the pet food production sites in Germany, France, the UK and Lithuania is one of the primary objectives at Mars, and is intended to be realized through currently ongoing projects.
Pilot Project reduces Water Consumption at Verden FactoryA few years ago, Mars successfully installed pilot equipment at their site in Verden, which is also their hub-site for the European Mars Petcare segment. Here, the processed cooling water previously used in the sterilization of filled pouches is treated and purified, resulting in a very effective reduction of water consumption in the manufacturing plant. By doing so, the company is successfully demonstrating to the entire food industry a significant, innovative way of how to recycle cooling water.
Retort Cooling Water RecyclingA specific process technology was applied to create a recycling system aimed at saving about 97 percent of the water used in this process. In the future, this method known as "Retort Cooling Water Recycling", or "Recowater", is also to be implemented at the pet food manufacturing sites in France, the UK and Lithuania in order to save resources and preserve the environment. Even though lowering the amount of water used in their own production sites is the primary goal, the company is looking at the "Recowater" project as an overall solution for recycling cooling water that could benefit the food industry at large.
EU Initiative "ECO-innovation"The implementation of this process within the different production landscapes is being backed by the EU initiative "ECO-innovation". This program provides needed support to further advance this sustainability project so that it can be deployed at more European Mars sites, or in other companies as well. Supported by this initiative, the new process will be phased in at the Mars sites in Ernolsheim (France), Gargzdai (Lithuania) and Melton Mowbray (UK).
