There are many ways for red meat processors to increase their energy efficiency especially when it comes to refrigeration. AMPC has been posting refrigeration energy efficiency actions, in an easy to read and understand format on LinkedIn.
This month we spoke with Carl Duncan from Teys about his role as Chief of Sustainability and his advice on energy efficiency.
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself, your career, and your role at Teys as Chief of Sustainability?
My passion for sustainability stems from my childhood growing up on a dairy farm in New Zealand. The importance of managing resources and caring for the environment, for our small part of the supply chain, had a significant impact on my outlook and values.
That ultimately led me to the sustainability sector. My focus in my studies and career has been on the energy and carbon space where efficiency, reduction and renewables have a major role to play.
Today, after 15 years in the sustainability field, I am proud to play my part in minimising our environmental impacts across a much larger and interconnected supply chain at Teys Australia, as we all work hard to feed the world responsibly.
My role as Chief Sustainability Officer for Teys encompasses driving resource efficiency and effectiveness right across our supply chain – whether it is integrated renewable energy, reducing water and waste outputs, championing best practice animal welfare to support our producers, or collaborating with customers on recycling innovation in our packaging.
Q. What is your goal as Chief of Sustainability at Teys?
At Teys, our objective for sustainability is to do our part to build better futures for our people, our local communities (many in regional Australia), and our planet.
Like many organisations, we are on a journey and Teys is committed to developing, learning, and sharing environmental best practice across all our operations, as we do our best to make positive change for our business and for our industry.
My goal as Chief of Sustainability is to facilitate the positive change required, leverage the expertise in our business, engage partners for success, and support our people to improve their performance in reducing our environmental footprint. By also focusing on what we are tracking and how we are progressing, it enables us to all measure meaningful change, and celebrate our wins together.
Q. Does this sustainability role exist in other meat processing plants either in Australia or overseas?
The meat processing industry, in many markets, here and overseas, is working to drive and improve its sustainability performance. There are sustainability experts and partners across the industry all seeking to make a difference. Other companies may have different roles and models, or be at a different point on their journey. This is very positive as there is a groundswell of increased focus in the meat processing industry with people and technology key to enabling the positive change required.
Q. What is your advice to red meat processors around the importance of energy efficiency?
Energy efficiency is certainly a key focus area and continued innovation around energy is critical for driving sustainable outcomes for our industry.
As recent times have seen energy prices rise across the globe, this requires further vigilance and a mindset that is focused on lean manufacturing – where every kilowatt-hour of power, tonne of steam and drop of water counts.
Energy efficiency and more importantly energy productivity, when done well, can deliver many benefits including reducing maintenance effort and costs as well as reducing longer term capital outlay of future renewable projects.
Q. What are some things Teys is doing around energy efficiency?
Teys has a suite of energy efficiency projects and programs delivering results as part of our overall sustainability investment.
A practical example impacting all our sites has been a dedicated focus over the last 3-5 years on refrigeration efficiency. In red meat processing its core business is to make the product cold - so we should be really good at it. Teys has adopted and standardised many of the strategies mentioned in the AMPC refrigeration energy efficiency solutions LinkedIn page, such as variable head pressure control. We are seeing good results and it is just one example where every saving counts. In fact, our combined efforts across multiple projects and improved tracking, have seen a real reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensities for Teys by over 18% in 2021.
But we know there is more to do, which is why we’ve increased our sustainability capex program over the coming five years.
Q. What other ways can processing plants be energy efficient? What are some practical things plants can do to become energy efficient?
The team at Teys is always monitoring the market and drawing on insights, partners, and industry research to inform our operations.
Three practical aspects come to mind that can drive positive energy efficient outcomes:
Measurement - internally, our continued focus on measurement. Are metrics shared and understood? Do all teams know how they can practically make a difference in their area? What are the top areas for energy and hot water use? How are they tracking? Relentless focus drives enhanced performance.
Conversations and collaboration – leveraging both internal and external expertise and advice can assist in driving positive outcomes for improved energy efficiency.
Look outside - look outside at other industries also facing these challenges and assess them for performance opportunities too. Many industries are working through sustainability imperatives and continuous improvement opportunities in energy efficiency can often be shared and applied for the benefit of all.