Kerry Group’s Madrid facility receives zero-waste accreditation
Some 97.9% of all waste generated by Kerry Group’s Madrid facility is re-used, recycled, or recovered, according to a new accreditation awarded to the company by Saica Natur.
Saica Natur is a branch of Saica Group, one of Europe’s biggest manufacturers of recycled paper and corrugated board. Its certification is awarded to companies which recover 95% or more of their waste.
To achieve the accreditation, the Kerry Iberia Taste & Nutrition premises, located in the Madrid municipality of Pinto, underwent an auditing process which analysed all its waste streams.
This included both the waste actually generated by the Kerry facility, and also the waste produced in the recycling or subsequent recovery process.
According to the results of the analysis, the plant recovered more than 131,000 kg of waste from materials including plastic, paper, cardboard, and organic matter.
Kerry said achieving the From Waste to Resources: Zero to Landfill certification is the result of a project launched in 2019 as part of its environmental policy.
The three-year initiative focused on establishing the most effective environmental management measures possible within the organisation to conserve natural resources and limit the impact of day-to-day operations.
Complete cooperation between staff was a necessity to overcome obstacles like space limitations, waste categorisation and segregation, the company said. For example, the segregating of waste required additional resources and spending that, particularly during the pandemic, could have been difficult to justify.
However, because of Kerry Madrid’s “firm commitment to the project and the support of Saica Natur”, the initiative was firmly retained throughout.
Director of Kerry Madrid, Alberto Torre, said: “This certificate is a significant achievement and forms part of Kerry Group’s circular economy ambitions and our commitment to sustainability and our ambitious Beyond the Horizon project in Madrid.
“The aim of the project is to promote the creation of a more balanced food industry, which generates prosperity while protecting the population and the planet”.
Antonio Quintilla, Director of Saica Natur Centro, added: “Developing the Zero Waste Project and making it a success has been both technically complex and rewarding given the commitment and motivation shown by the entire Kerry team, who have been very proactive in every challenge we have faced, involving the entire organisation from the first to the last worker.”
