Lately we have been hearing a lot about climate change and the harmful effects that human activity has on the environment. It is the responsibility of all, companies and individuals, to be active players in a transformation that will allow us to reverse the current environmental situation and think about what kind of world we want to leave to future generations.
The current pace of life makes it almost impossible to be 100% sustainable, but it is clear that every step we take in order to minimize the effect that our day-to-day life has on the environment is a step closer we are to sustainability.
At a domestic level we take actions like sorting waste that can be recycled, using more public transport in detriment of the private car, or carrying our own shopping bags to reduce plastic. In this aspect and in relation to our sector, we would like to defend the noble profession of butchery which is too often replaced by a shelf where in order to buy 80g of ham you have to acquire the same weight in plastic.
On an industrial scale, and because of the volume it represents, the impact on the environment is more significant and it is usually more difficult to make groundbreaking decisions. Often the road to sustainability involves drastic changes in our habits, and these are not always easy to assume. Until recently, business models did not take environment into account. Although the integration of this element is vital for the survival and well-being of our planet (remember that there will be no business without the environment) making major investments in systems and machinery that will not result in increased productivity is a hard, although necessary, decision.
At Sant Dalmai S.A.U., we have a medium and long-term vision, where the environmental sustainability is at the center of all strategic decisions. This is why we are working to reduce our ecological footprint, taking advantage of the changes and renovations that ought to be made in machinery and systems in order to make them more efficient.
The main objectives achieved over the last 4 years are:
The new cooking system implemented during the last quarter of 2018, which required an investment of more than 2.5 million Euros, allows us to reuse water during the cooking and
cooling processes thus cutting water consumption by more than half.
Due to the decrease in hot water consumption during cooking processes fuel consumption has also significantly been reduced.
As a result of the evolution and emergence of new technologies in water treatment we have made a series of investments during the past 2 years that enable us to purify the water used during the production process with a more up-to-date and efficient technology. Operating time has been reduced, which has a direct impact on the amount of energy consumed, and the number of additives needed in order to purify the water have also been lowered.
When choosing our electric energy supplier, the first condition we placed was that all energy supplied to us should come from renewable sources.
Moreover, and understanding that the future of electricity in industries will also involve the use of natural sources for power generation, we have inaugurated, for the first time, our own 40 kW solar power plant. This energy is only a small contribution to the overall consumption of the company, but it is one more step forward towards sustainability.
The privileged location of our factory allows us to appreciate the environment and be aware that caring for it is essential to preserve it. That is why year after year we devote more efforts and resources to becoming more efficient and sustainable. It is a long way, but only step-by-step will we achieve it.
We continue to focus on leaving a better world for future generations to come.
