 |
| Photo credit: Nestle UK. |
By Anders Lorenzen
A new Scottish wind farm is set to provide half of the electricity needed to power up Nestle’s UK and Ireland operations.
Nestle, the global food and beverage company, has commissioned the wind farm in a 15-year partnership with Community Wind Power, it will be located in Dumfries and Galloway. It is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017 and will be capable of generating electricity equivalent to the consumption of 30,000 homes.
With this move, Nestle has cemented the company’s commitment to renewable energy. This will build on current achievements as the company says it already source all its electricity from renewable sources. Dame Fiona Kendrick, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé UK & Ireland, said: “We announced back in April that all of our grid-supplied electricity is coming from renewable sources, but today’s announcement takes things a huge step further.This is a newly commissioned wind farm, generating new energy, creating capacity that didn’t previously exist and capable of providing half of our electricity needs. It’s a proud moment for us and means we have reached another key milestone in our efforts to become a sustainable business.” A spokesperson from the company told A greener life, a greener world, that the wind farm will mean they will now be needing to purchase less electricity.
Rod Wood, the Managing Director of Community Windpower, stated that “Community Windpower are delighted to be working with Nestlé by providing 50% of their energy requirements from our Sanquhar community wind farm project. As a leading party within the RE100, Nestlé’s commitment to sustainable resourcing is exemplary, and our partnership is testament to that.”
Nestle has been one of the leading global corporations which in recent years have increased their commitment to tackle climate change. Emily Farnworth, the Campaign Director at the RE campaign, which is a global, collaborative initiative of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity, said Nestle recognizes that climate change impacts pose a risk to business, comments thus: “Today’s announcement takes the company a step closer to its goal of sourcing 100% renewable electricity across its global operations, and reinforces the strong market signal – sent through RE100 – that business demand for renewables is rising.”
However, the company is globally not yet 100% renewable, but according to Nestle, they’re working hard on changing that. They’re aiming for 100% renewable energy in the shortest practical time scale, though stopping short of putting a date on it. The company is also saying they’re on target and may even exceed their goal to reduce their UK carbon footprint by 40% by 2020.
Similarly, IKEA, Google and Mars have also recently pledged to go 100% renewable.
Related news:
Never miss a story, sign up to our weekly newsletter:
Categories: Community Wind Power, corporations, Nestle, Scotland, UK, wind farm
A greener life, a greener world 
4 replies »