Stephen Butterfield with Tomasz Parzyk, environmental manager at CCEP Wakefield
Coca-Cola European Partners has started sourcing all of the electricity for its UK operations from renewable sources.
By making the switch CCEP claims it is demonstrating its commitment to sustainable manufacturing across the whole of its UK operations.
The news coincides with the launch of a solar farm at the Europe’s largest soft drinks factory in Wakefield.
The solar farm will cover an area equivalent to 12 football pitches and will produce up to five mega watts of electricity at full capacity. The renewable electricity sourced from this recent project, along with a £1m combined heat and power system installed in 2014, that 3,800 tonnes of C02 will be saved at the factory.
CCEP head of sustainability Nick Brown said: “At CCEP we are committed to minimising the impact of our operations, with a core goal to reduce the carbon footprint of the drink in the consumers’ hand by a third in time for 2020. By guaranteeing that 100% of the electricity we use comes from renewable sources we’re taking a major step forward in achieving this.
“The Wakefield solar farm is a long-term sustainability project for CCEP, capable of producing up to 5MW of energy at full capacity. We’ve been collaborating with partners across GB to build our renewable energy credentials and have enjoyed working together with a number of local groups and businesses in Wakefield to support this.”
Stephen Butterfield, the landowner of the solar farm site which is located 1.5 miles away from the factory, added: “As a resident and business owner near Wakefield, I’m very excited to be working with one of the world’s largest brands on such a worthwhile initiative, harnessing renewable energy from Yorkshire to bring soft drinks to people across the country. It’s fantastic to be utilising my land to support local manufacturing, and in a way that helps to protect our environment.”
