Bacardi Improves Energy, Water Efficiency

by | Jan 31, 2011

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Bacardi has reduced water consumption by 27 percent and energy use by 11 percent, year-on-year.

The liquor company’s 2010 corporate responsibility report (pdf) says that the company reduced water consumption by 27.3 percent in fiscal year 2010, a 41.4 percent improvement over the past four years.

One-fifth of the drop in 2010 was due to improved water efficiency, with the rest due to increased outsourcing. Water efficiency improved by 8.6 percent year-on-year, and 17.4 percent over four years, meeting the company’s target of a 15 percent, five-year reduction.

Bacardi says it achieved the target through installing water-efficient equipment, and through “a combination of better operating discipline and conservation measures”.

The company reduced its total energy use by 11.3 percent between fiscal years 2009 and 2010, improving efficiency by 5.9 percent. It increased efficiency by 16.6 percent over four years, surpassed its five-year target of a 12 percent efficiency improvement.

Bacardi says its manufacturing facilities increased, by 30 percent over one year, the proportion of energy that they get from renewable sources. Major initiatives included a new contract for hydroelectric power, helping the company’s Italian operations to achieve zero CO2 emissions.

The Bacardi distillery at Cataño, Puerto Rico is now partly powered by two wind turbines, which at 1 MW form the largest wind installation in the country. The turbines account for up to seven percent of the site’s power use, Bacardi said. Another Bacardi distillery in Mexico has installed a heat recovery system, increasing energy efficiency by 16 percent, the company said.

The company reduced its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 18.9 percent in the year to fiscal 2010, and by 30.6 percent over four years. GHG intensity – the quantity of emissions per unit of production – fell by 9.2 percent in the year to fiscal 2010.

Bacardi said, however, that it has only partially met aims to improve the sustainability of its supply chain. It has not yet met its goal to establish key performance indicators for responsible sourcing. It only partially met a target to have “very high risk suppliers” write action plans to comply with Bacardi procurement policies.

But the companyi said that 175 of its suppliers have joined Sedex, a database for sharing ethical audit data, exceeding a target of 100.

Bacardi says it is the only major spirits company to operate in accordance with the ISO 14001 environmental standard at all its production facilities.

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