Environmental management, key to improving the competitiveness of the food industry

Environmental management is a key factor in the overall management of agri-food companies and can be decisive for their competitiveness. Energy consumption, the generation of emissions and the production of organic by-products are some of the most notable aspects. The use of bioenergy makes it possible to reduce operating costs and improve the environmental image. This was revealed today at the conference 'Energy solutions with biomass for the agri-food industry', held within the Expobiomasa program of activities and organized by Avebiom and the Food Industry Association of Castilla y León, Vitartis.

An event that served to present two success stories of the use of biomass in the sector, as well as to explain the aid for its implementation, the increase in energy efficiency and instruments for reducing the carbon footprint and corporate sustainability. The president of Avebiom, Javier Díaz, assured that “biomass professionals can provide agri-food companies with creative, innovative, emissions-neutral energy solutions that are entirely focused on their needs.” The president of Vitartis, Félix Moracho, said that it is “fundamental for the food industry to make the transition to renewable energy. “Any responsible company must pursue sustainability in its three aspects: environmental, economic and social.” For this reason, he stressed the importance of learning from professionals about the success stories of those who have already taken that step.

Savings
The Huesca company Manzana Piensos Compuestos, which opted for biomass for economic reasons, has achieved annual savings of 155,000 euros thanks to a new biomass installation with forest chips. Specifically, it has achieved a saving of €1/Tn of feed. In addition, it avoids the emission of 1,253tn of CO2 per year. These savings allowed the investment made in the plant to be amortized in three years. “Clearly, the 'switch' to biomass has meant an enormous business improvement, given that the company has reduced the cost of manufacturing feed,” said Isidre Alférez, sales manager of IMartec Energía. For its part, Lácteos Pérez Olveira (La Coruña) has experienced energy savings of more than 20% after 24 months working on the pellet installation.

Aid
Regarding aid, 9.1% of the amount of the first call of the program aimed at energy efficiency actions in SMEs and large companies in the industrial sector was granted to companies in Castilla y León, and only 0.52% to the agri-food sector. This 2015 call to carry out actions to improve energy efficiency and implement energy management systems had a budget of 49 million euros. The objective was to facilitate the implementation of energy savings and efficiency measures detected by the industrial sector or proposed by energy audits to reduce energy consumption.