Food and drink firms need to slash industrial water usage by 20% by the year 2020.

Leading UK food and drink manufacturers have joined forces to help the environment by reducing the amount of water they use, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has announced.

A total of 21 companies have so far joined the initiative, which is backed by FDF and resource efficiency experts Envirowise. If more companies sign up, a combined 140 million litres of water could be saved every day, saving £60 million per year.

Organisations to sign the ‘Federation House Commitment’ include Cadbury Schweppes, GlaxoSmithKline, Nestlé UK, PepsiCo UK and Weetabix. They have vowed to “review their on-site water use and take action to reduce it wherever possible.”

The initiative is part of FDF’s ‘Five-fold Environmental Ambition’ – a programme aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, packaging and waste, and improving food transport practices. It also central to the food and drink industry’s target of slashing its industrial water usage by 20% by the year 2020.

Callton Young OBE, FDF’s Director of Sustainability & Competitiveness, commented: “Today’s signing of the Federation House Commitment by many of our largest member companies is an important demonstration of this commitment and their desire to reduce the environmental impacts of our sector through the widespread adoption of water efficiency best practice. The leadership that they are bringing to bear on this important issue is to be applauded.”

For more information or to find out how your company can get involved, visit www.fdf.org.uk

By Natasha Piscitelli