Green Field Solutions partners with the makers of the world’s most mouthwatering sweets and snacks to fight food waste using the tried-and-true and brand-spanking-new strategies that work. Every year, GFS manages more than one billion pounds of food waste, including approximately eight million pounds of candy and sugar, 12 million pounds of chocolate and candy bars, and 50 million pounds of chips and salty snacks. These are 5 waste management strategies that work:
Strategies that Work: Prioritize Waste Management
There are many reasons that sweets and snacks manufacturers should prioritize recycling and waste management. Making the planet better, for example, as well as reaching corporate sustainability goals and complying with federal regulations. Also, when waste management systems precede activities such as building new facilities or launching new product lines, it can save time and money, not to mention headaches.
“GFS was approached by a major candy producer to provide input into the construction of a new facility,” said Tim Umbarger, GFS Commercial Manager. “Working with the company’s architects and engineers, we considered multiple scenarios for removing its sugary waste product from the new building. Helping them design a flow-path for their organic waste and recycling ensured plenty of space for the refuse-removing semi-trucks to get in and get their waste out.”
GFS Library: 4 Ways to Prioritize Waste Stream Management
Strategies that Work: Protect Your Brand
Today, CPGs have more tools than ever to improve their visibility, efficiency, sustainability and security. At Green Field Solutions, we are continually pioneering new ways for food and beverage companies to track and report complex data, to be more sustainable, and to protect their brand.
“Food companies need to know exactly what’s leaving their facilities,” said Trent Small, Director of Operations & Sales. “Our quality regulatory groups recognize the importance of brand security and take the appropriate measures and processes to manage your brand as much as your product.”
Case Study: How Data is Revolutionizing Food
Strategies that Work: Consider New Markets
For many food manufacturers, food waste is more than an issue to address; it is an opportunity to create value and be sustainable. It’s what’s referred to as the circular economy model, by which food production waste remains in the supply chain as nutritious animal feed ingredients. Getting the best value for otherwise landfilled, land-spread or undervalued waste materials requires an expertise in creating global markets, transforming operational procedures or simply investing in game-changing solutions.
“One of our clients has factories all over the world and produces 85 million pounds of ice cream waste every year,” said Tony Armitage, General Manager of GFS. “Identifying an alternative for land-spreading that waste was extremely complex. By identifying new markets for those products in animal diets, we’ve completely transformed how they do things.”
Case Study: A Game Changing Solution for Ice Cream Waste
Strategies that Work: Understand Scope 3
Greenhouse gas emissions are divided into four categories (scopes 1-4). Scope 3 emissions are often considered the most complicated because they are affected by decisions made outside of the company. Scope 3 includes the “indirect” emissions generated throughout the upstream and downstream activities in a company’s value chain. Their measurement spans the entire value chain and often depends on where the company gets its supplies and where it sells its products and services.
“Companies aren’t fully taking advantage of opportunities to achieve and to communicate their contributions to a more sustainable world,” said Jennifer Luchte, Sustainability Director at GFS. “For example, Scope 3 Emissions are a major challenge. Companies could be taking inventory of all kinds of measurements up and down their value chain.”
GFS Library: Scope 3 Emissions Explained
Strategies that Work: Get Zero Waste Certified
More and more companies are taking significant strides in their pursuit of zero waste. It’s an undertaking that can seem overwhelming, but may actually be easier than you think. At GFS, we bridge the gap between setting sustainability goals and meeting them, and we help walk companies through USGBC’s TRUE certification program and process.
“GFS offers food manufacturers a smart, easy and secure way to upcycle organic by-products as well as manage recycling and solid waste streams,” said GFS’s Commercial Manager of Recycling, Brian Beaudrie. “We unlock the potential value of by-products and maximize revenue for production waste to help companies achieve their sustainability goals.”
