HKScan Estonia, the largest Estonian food company, has for the past year been only using green electricity in its Rakvere and Tabasalu production units and thus cut almost 60,000 tons of carbon emissions.
According to Anne Mere, EVP of HKScan Business unit Baltics, one of the most important goals of the company in recent years has been to offer Rakvere and Tallegg products to consumers more sustainably. "Through the introduction of renewable electricity, we will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions related to our production by 60,000 tons compared to last year – this is a huge change that goes hand in hand with HKScan's environmental goals. This is also the basis for the company's investment decisions,” Mere added.
In addition to the introduction of renewable electricity, the company has reduced the consumption of heat and water during the renovation of its production buildings over the years. "We also follow the principle of the circular economy in our activities, according to which we strive to utilise the waste generated by both industry and animal husbandry to the maximum. For example, we use thermal energy generated by cold production in the Rakvere and Tabasalu meat industries to obtain hot water. This has reduced gas consumption in hot water production by 50 percent," Mere pointed out.
In terms of reducing its carbon footprint, HKScan Estonia aims to further cut the use of plastic in the packaging of its products by at least 200 tons, i.e. 20 percent by the year 2025 and to fully switch over to recyclable packaging by that time.
EECS RES-GO certificate, which proves that the electricity used has been entirely produced from renewable energy, has been issued to HKScan Estonia.
Additional information:
Kerstin Aps
Communication manager of HKScan Estonia
E-mail: Kerstin.Aps@hkscan.com
Phone: 52 47 583
HKScan’s target is to grow into a versatile food company. With over 100 years of experience, we make tasty, healthy and responsibly produced food responding to the needs of consumers and customers. For us at HKScan, responsibility includes the development of food production throughout the value chain, from farms to consumers. Our home markets cover Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltics. Our nearly 7,000 HKScan professionals ensure tastier life - today and tomorrow. Our diverse product portfolio includes poultry, pork and beef, as well as meat products and meals. Our strong brands are HK®, Kariniemen®, Via®, Scan®, Pärsons®, Rakvere®, Tallegg® and Rose®. In 2019, net sales of the publicly listed HKScan totalled EUR 1.7 billion.