Unilever saves €300m through efficiency measures

The multinational corporation that owns brands like Marmite, Knorr (pictured) and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise has achieved a carbon reduction of more than a million tonnes and cut costs by €300 million […]

The multinational corporation that owns brands like Marmite, Knorr (pictured) and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise has achieved a carbon reduction of more than a million tonnes and cut costs by €300 million (£256m) since 2008.

Unilever claims it reached the milestone – equivalent to taking 250,000 cars off the road – by implementing efficiency measures in its manufacturing and logistics operations. Through its eco-efficiency programmes in the last five years, Unilever cut almost €100 million (£86.2m) in energy costs, €186 million (£160.3m) in materials, €17 million (£14.7m) in water and €10 million (£8.6m) in waste disposal.

The measures included using biomass boilers, combined heat and power (CHP) technology and maximising transport efficiencies.

John Maguire, Unilever’s Group Manufacturing Sustainability Director said: “CO2 emissions and climate change continue to present businesses with significant challenges but they also offer opportunities. Our primary focus is to reduce overall energy use by improving the eco-efficiency of everything we do in our factories, offices and other operations. We leverage our global scale by selecting ideas that have the best financial and eco-efficiency payback and then implement them globally.”

He added 100% of the energy it buys in Europe and North America comes from renewable sources.

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