The sustainable use of natural resources and the fight against climate change constitute the main sustainability issues facing the dairy industry. Given the growing scarcity of water, optimizing water usage and improving the quality of the Group's discharges pose major challenges for Bel in pursuing its activities.
From the collection of milk, to the production of products in factories, to packaging and transport, Bel concern is to minimize its environmental impact. This work is performed in a continuous way with the development of improvement programs in the factories and supporting the producers throughout the year in the improvement of their processes.
With a view to efficiency, Bel has set ambitious targets for reducing the water and energy footprint of its sites, while progressively deploying continuous improvement processes to lower the sites’ other environmental impacts.
Between 2015 and 2016, more than 750,000 euros were invested in environmental protection, such as the reduction of heat losses through the application of thermal insulation and other measures to reduce energy consumption in both factories.
Further, to avoid accidental discharges into natural environments, Bel uses dedicated facilities to protect the path of the water and river-water drainage points adjacent to the sites. Bel ensures that the temperature and the amount of organic matter in the water discharged by the sites comply with all regulations in force, to limit the negative impact on natural environments.
In 2016, an investment was made in the Vale de Cambra plant to improve the efficiency of steam production with specific actions in the boilers, which allowed a reduction of gas and water consumption.
To diminish its dependence on fossil fuels and to progressively lower its greenhouse gas emissions, Bel makes curbing its energy usage a priority. Using the reduced consumption rate as its base, the Group also reviews opportunities for using renewable energy sources.
In Ribeira Grande Factory was invested 200.000€ in solar panels contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. An energy audit was carried out, identifying opportunities for consumption reductions, and in 2017 an action plan will be drawn up, highlighting an investment in a thermal and electric energy recovery system by recovering heat from milk / serum fluids.
