Water is essential for life, and on World Food Day 2023, we look at the actions Ingham’s is taking to reduce its water consumption.
Nick Mitrevski, Head of Sustainability and Environment says, “Water is used in various ways across our sites, from providing nourishment to our birds to production processes and cleaning activities.
“We report and measure our water intensity (kL/T), and aim to reduce the amount of water needed to process our products by 20% by 2030 against an FY19 baseline.
“This is both achievable and a challenge, and will require a concerted effort from all employees,” Nick said.
The $15 million investment in a new wastewater treatment and recycling plant at Osborne Park will reduce Ingham’s overall water usage by approximately 2%.
Construction is nearing completion, and the new plant will improve the sustainability of our operations with the modern plant efficiently treating water and reducing odour emissions. Additionally, the recycling water system is expected to reduce incoming water supply by up to 40%. The plant should be commissioned and handed over by year end.
Nick said Ingham’s already recycles water at Murrarie and Somerville, and Somerville has implemented a range of measures, reducing water usage by 11% in the past financial year.
Employees at Somerville participated in toolbox talks to raise awareness of the importance of reducing water usage. This resulted in a number of initiatives, such as installing aeration in spin chillers to increase water flow without using additional water, recapturing and recycling water previously lost through the live bird and evisceration processes, shutting off the water on key equipment during breaks, and automating the trailer wash system to optimise and control water usage.
“These are great initiatives, which have seen a tangible reduction in water used at the site,” Nick said.
“And we are working with all our sites to encourage them to be more efficient, and less wasteful, with water. Through their Environmental Management Plans, annually, each site identifies relevant water reduction targets in line with Ingham’s 2030 Sustainability Roadmap.”
“Water scarcity is a real issue in Australia and New Zealand, and all the steps we take to preserve this precious commodity will help Ingham’s and our planet,” Nick said.