Birds Eye Iglo, Young’s Pledge to Slash Water Use

As sustainability concerns gain momentum, leading U.K. seafood processors Birds Eye Iglo and Young’s Seafood have signed a “historic agreement” to improve their water efficiency.

The companies have pledged to slash water use for in-house manufacturing operations by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 2007.

They join 19 other food and beverage manufacturers in the U.K., including Nestle and Unilever, as signatories of the Federation House Commitment (FHC), a water best-practice initiative jointly developed by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and resource-efficiency organization Envirowise.

According to the FDF, the initiative, once in full swing, could save some 140 million liters of water per day — equivalent to 56 Olympic-size swimming pools — with combined financial savings of around GBR 60 million (USD 86.4 million, EUR 66.9 million) a year on water bills.

“We’re keen to work on this commitment, and will regularly consult with Eurowise to achieve the goal,” a press officer at Birds Eye said to SeafoodSource.

The company already has a recycling program in place, re-using water when it can, and avoids tapping into “new” water sources. Various audits from Eurowise will help Birds Eye Iglo deliver its pledge.

In terms of sustainability, the fish finger producer recently announced it would focus the business on two missions: the “eco- mission” and the “nutrition-mission.” Included in the nine priority areas for the eco-mission are waste and packaging, water use and sustainable sourcing for fish.

“Industry has an important role to play, by minimizing the impact of its own operations and by working with its suppliers, accordingly,” said Martin Glenn, CEO at Birds Eye Iglo.

At Grismby-based Young’s Seafood, deputy chief executive Mike Parker offered support for the FHC initiative: “It is good business and is absolutely the right thing to do, for us, and for the environment.”

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