Page 103 - FoodFocusThailand No.228 March 2025

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STORAGE, HANDLING & LOGISTICSORAGE, HANDLING & LOGISTICS

The Path to Energy Conservation

for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain

The food industry is one of the most energy-intensive sectors, requiring vast resources from raw material
production and processing to transportation and distribution. Given this, businesses must seek ways to
enhance energy efficiency to improve operational effectiveness and minimize environmental impact.
Achieving energy efficiency throughout the supply chain involves several crucial steps.

Establishing Clear Policies, Product Design Energy efficiency starts with product
Strategies, and Goals Organizations design by selecting raw materials with lower energy
should define clear policies, strategies, and requirements, reducing energy-intensive processing steps,
goals for energy conservation to ensure and using environmentally friendly packaging. ‘Unilever’ has
alignment and collaboration among employees. developed eco-friendly packaging using recycled plastic and
Additionally, fostering cooperation with business lightweight materials, minimizing energy consumption in production
partners is essential. A well-defined policy from top and transportation. Additionally, the company has introduced
management signals commitment across all levels, dishwashing products made from natural cleaning agents, significantly
driving effective energy-saving initiatives. For example, reducing energy usage during manufacturing .
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‘CPF’ has implemented the CPF 2030 strategy to Supply Chain Design A well-structured supply chain
promote a sustainable food system, focusing on can optimize energy consumption through various
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and optimizing strategies:
water resource utilization. A key achievement is adopting • Sourcing raw materials near production
30% renewable energy in its production facilities across facilities: Sourcing raw materials from locations near manufacturing
Thailand . ‘Unilever’ has committed to responsible facilities helps reduce transportation distances, ultimately lowering
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business operations through the “Unilever Sustainable fuel and energy consumption. For example, establishing livestock
Living Plan”, aiming to reduce energy consumption farms close to food processing plants can significantly cut
across its global supply chain. The company targets 100% long-distance transportation costs.
renewable energy usage in all its factories by 2030 .
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