Major food and drink manufacturers pledge to reduce water use

The Federation House Commitment was jointly developed by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and resource efficiency experts, Envirowise. The first signatories have pledged to review their on-site water use and take action to reduce this wherever possible.

Once rolled out across the sector as a whole, the initiative could save some 140 million litres of water per day – equivalent to 56 Olympic-size swimming pools – and a combined financial saving of around £60m per year on water bills. Companies working with Envirowise will review their current water use and develop site specific action plans to significantly cut water use and costs within six months of signing up to the commitment.

Mike Parker, deputy CEO of Foodvest (parent company of Young’s), said: “The Federation's commitment to the Best Water Practice programme is an initiative that Young's is delighted to support. As an industry, food processing can play an important part in improving the use of this precious resource. It is good business and is absolutely the right thing to do, for us, and for the environment."