Incarlopsa reduces its volume of CO2 emissions by nearly 15% by 2020

07.07.2021
  • In line with the company’s environmental commitment, Incarlopsa has certified its carbon footprint for the third consecutive year in accordance with the UNE-EN ISO 14064-1:2012 standard and under the supervision of an independent entity.
  • Ecoembes has once again certified the savings that packaging recycling contributes to the volume of emissions: 3,909 t CO2e in 2020. Since 2016, Incarlopsa has almost tripled this parameter.
  • In terms of energy efficiency, Incarlopsa plans to reduce its carbon footprint by another 3,500 tons of CO2e per year with the implementation of one of the largest energy self-consumption projects in Spain.
  • Por primera vez, la compañía ha certificado su huella hídrica (Water Footprint Declaration) conforme con los requisitos de la norma UNE-EN ISO 14046:2016.

Incarlopsa, a leading company from Castilla-La Mancha in the production and processing of pork products, has certified for the third consecutive year, and in line with its commitment to a sustainable development model, its carbon footprint in accordance with the UNE EN ISO 14064-1:2012 standard. To know this carbon footprint, Incarlopsa has used the calculator of the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), who, through the Spanish Office for Climate Change (OECC), has also authorized for the first time the company to use the seal that certifies the registration of the volume of emissions on a voluntary basis. Thus, Incarlopsa has reduced its total volume of emissions by 14.6% in 2020 compared to the previous year, to 48,160.9 tons of CO2 equivalent.

The total volume of emissions reported in 2020 represents 80% of the company’s facilities, while those recorded in 2019 referred to 70%, highlighting the company’s ongoing efforts to progressively reduce its environmental impact.

This commitment also translates into an investment effort that contributes to progressively reduce the impact on the environment derived from the company’s activity. Thus, in 2020, Incarlopsa has allocated 5.3 million euros to environmental resources to minimize this impact, which represents an increase of nearly 2% over the previous year. In addition, at the end of 2020, nearly 90% of Incarlopsa’s total production was manufactured in ISO 14001 certified plants.

Innovation for the environment

Incarlopsa’s long-term sustainable development model is based on the circular economy, where the commitment to innovation, efficient management of energy and natural resources and the application of the four “R” rule (reduce, reuse, recover and recycle) in waste management play a fundamental role.

In 2020, Incarlopsa reduced its total volume of waste by 1% to 12,339 tons, of which 99.8% is non-hazardous waste (paper, cardboard, plastic, etc.) and nearly 70% is recovered.

In the case of packaging, the company’s I+D department is working on a progressive reduction of the materials used in packaging, while seeking the incorporation of other more sustainable materials, and on the integration of circular economy criteria for its design. This translates into the use of mono-materials to facilitate their recyclability, the reuse, mainly, of intermediate packaging, and the reduction of grammages and, by extension, the reduction of material consumption.

The results obtained with this strategy have once again been recognized by an independent third party. Ecoembes has certified that, thanks to packaging recycling, Incarlopsa has saved the emission of 3,909 tons of CO2e into the atmosphere in 2020, multiplying this parameter by 2.73 times since 2016.

In addition, Incarlopsa has launched a project that aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 3,500 tons of CO2e per year by incorporating one of the most innovative technologies in this type of energy: adhesive solar panels that are attached directly to the roofs of buildings.

The group has entrusted Endesa to build one of the most important self-consumption projects in its sector and in Spain: 9.6 MWp of power and 14.2 GWh of annual production, which will allow it to cover a very relevant part of the energy required in its production processes with clean and renewable energy. Practically 100% of the energy generated by the 21,000 photovoltaic modules contemplated in the project will be self-consumed by the three ham dryers that Incarlopsa has in Castilla-La Mancha: Corral de Almaguer, Olías del Rey and Tarancón.

The company’s total electricity consumption in 2020 amounted to 152.3 million kWh, showing an increase of 3.4% in value relative to production.

Water Footprint Statement for 80% of the company’s facilities

In 2020, Incarlopsa has certified its water footprint for the first time. The company has conducted a Water Footprint Declaration (WFD) in accordance with the requirements of the standard: UNE-EN ISO 14046:2016. The WFD includes in its analysis 80% of lncarlopsa’s facilities over the course of a year, as well as the environmental impacts associated directly and indirectly with the manufacture and use of materials and consumables used by the company to carry out its activity. The objective is to incorporate in the future the plants located in Jabugo (Huelva) to cover 100% of the facilities in the WFD calculations.

In 2020, the total consumption of water used by Incarlopsa in its production process stood at 1.3 million cubic meters, representing an increase of 9% over the previous year due to the increase in activity recorded in the year, although water consumption associated with production increased by only 5%, from 3.54 m3per ton produced in 2019 to 3.72 m3/t in 2020, demonstrating the company’s ability to rationalize the consumption of this natural resource.

In addition, Incarlopsa has four industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) that reduce by 99% the emission of toxic substances or substances that have an environmental impact into the water. In addition, the calculation of the “Water Use” impact carried out at the WFD estimates that 95% of the water consumed directly in Incarlopsa’s plants is returned to the water circuit after passing through the corresponding treatment plant.

In 2020, a total of 882,881 m3 of wastewater was discharged to the public sewer, representing a decrease of 1.9% compared to 2019 despite the increase experienced in production.