Kerry's new taste facility boasts eco-conscious design

All 50,000m² of Kerry’s new, state-of-the-art taste manufacturing facility in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia, were designed with sustainability in mind.

The multifunctional space – which operates as a manufacturing site, research and development pilot plant and a sampling hub – was engineered to efficiently deliver delicious and sustainably nutritious products to customers across southeast Asia. The result is food and beverage products and ingredients that are efficiently made with local ingredients and tastes in a way that has minimal impact on the environment.

Here are 8 standout ways sustainability is built into the site:

1. The site is designed to send no waste to landfills – including no food waste – and there’s an on-site wastewater treatment system to pre-treat waste before discharge to the estate.

2. 100% of all utility equipment is designed to be high efficiency, meeting or beating the latest energy efficiency standards and reducing energy usage.

3. The production building is designed to reduce energy consumption and improve cleanability – reducing both time and energy required to maintain the hygiene necessary for this type of facility.

4. Water conservation measures are built in, resulting in water consumption avoidance of up to 30% to 50%, compared to estimated water use if no conservation measures were implemented.

5. Innovations such as the use of cold plasma odour reduction technology, which uses electricity – versus thermal oxidization, which burns natural gas – are helping shrink the plant’s carbon footprint, reducing CO2 production by an estimated 28% (when compared to CO2 emissions when no conservation measures were taken).

6. A cutting-edge building management system controls the air conditioning, which is a key energy demand in this location. The computer-based design is responsive, allowing for data collection, improved efficiency and automated adjustments so that workers stay comfortable, products stay safe and energy use is minimised.

7. An ‘off-hours’ mode runs the plant at lowered settings to reduce energy usage when no production is taking place.

8. The central location of this production facility cuts shipping distances for receiving raw materials at the plant and shipping finished goods from the plant, reducing CO2 and energy expenditures.