With sustainability a focus for us as always, we’ve been working hard to continually reduce our energy consumption where possible at Quattro Foods. With the wellbeing of the planet at the heart of everything we do, this is our most important initiative for spring and we’re delighted with the outcome. We applied for some grant funding which has been a great help and we’ve now completed the first part of our energy reduction plan.
The strategy was implemented to mitigate the damage our poor planet faces from the food industry (and others!) every day, and of course it helps us reduce costs, resulting in job security and not putting any of our roles, or people, at risk.
Extraction efficiency
The first part of the project was to overhaul our extraction system, which was not only costly to run but was falling apart and no longer running efficiently from a utility cost perspective. We chose not to replace the system like for like and rethought the whole design. This new design has resulted in a neater footprint, less maintenance and lower electrical usage, reducing CO2 emissions by a huge amount – equivalent to a whole house!
Dairy tank refurb
We have just completed stage 2, which was refurbishing old farm dairy tanks and fitting them with glycol chilling and aeration, so we can now chill and clean our products, reducing the need to use our blast freezers overnight, saving hours (and pounds!) of energy and reducing our overall chill times across the business. This means we can produce goods in larger pack sizes, which also reduces overall handling time and of course, utility cost.
Generator downsize
The third part of the plan has involved downsizing. Everything’s going swimmingly so far with a smaller generator, which will reduce our diesel usage in the long term.
Small firm with a big heart
There are only four senior managers at Quattro Foods, but the climate crisis is always front of mind for us and we’re determined to make a difference. We continually brainstorm to come up with new strategies and to consider possibilities for reducing waste, energy consumption and ultimately our carbon footprint.
So far, we’re delighted with what we’ve planned and have achieved with no need to bring in expensive consultants, just a great team working together for the benefit of us all. And there’s a bonus. Our plans have even freed up a little cash, allowing us to invest in some Lean training for our junior team, with incredible results so far.
There’s always more to do, and Team Quattro is on a mission – so watch this space!