Royal A-ware wants to use as little water as possible and reuse as much as possible. We do this at our production site in Heerenveen, among other places, by extracting water from the whey released during cheese production. We also try to keep water consumption as low as possible in other ways.
Why is this important to us?
Based on the double materiality assessment, the availability of high-quality water has been put on Royal A-ware's sustainability agenda. By this, we mean the availability of clean and safe drinking water for human use, suitable for food processing, and supportive of biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems, either from water purchased from external suppliers or from groundwater.
In particular, external factors, such as population growth and climate change (drought), have put increasing pressure on water availability. Water is an essential resource for our production processes. Therefore, responsible water consumption within our organisation has been moved higher up the agenda.
What are the risks and opportunities?
Royal A-ware has screened its properties and activities to identify impacts, risks and opportunities when it comes to water and marine resources. We have done the same for our value chain (see Policy, scope). To achieve this, we used the LEAP approach: Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare. We also conducted desk research and several consultations:
Desk Research: inventory of water withdrawal at production sites; government policies including the Water Framework Directive; flood risk assessment tools; Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas (a World Resources Institute (WRI) tool to locate sites in water-scarce areas); fact sheets from organisations such as European Dairy Association (EDA)
Consultations: discussions with people in key functions at our production sites, including the Operations Support team, the environmental coordinator and the members of the Sustainability Steering Group.
Consultation with plant employees who play a key role in the development and implementation of water policy.
Water availability
To meet food safety standards, we depend on the availability of high-quality water. When water quality does not meet the standards, it impacts our operations. High-quality water must then be supplied from another source, which - without additional investment - may not be readily available.
Water discharge
Most of our extracted water, which is chemically, microbiologically or physically altered, is discharged after being used in our production processes. This is done on-site using our own water treatment plant, or it is cleaned elsewhere, or discharged into the sewerage system. Contaminated water that cannot be treated at the water treatment plant or discharged into the sewer system is collected by third-party waste management specialists. Non-compliance with environmental requirements related to water drainage, may result in permit revocation. In addition, the ecological impact on water systems outside our organisation should not be underestimated either.
Floods
The southern regions of the Netherlands and Belgium face an increased risk of flooding. If the sites, and the surrounding areas, do not have an effective drainage system to take away rainwater quickly, there is a significant risk of flooding. Water-related disruptions, such as impassable roads (resulting in delays) and water that gets into a factory, can impact operations.
Availability and price of water
In addition to the possibility of clean, high-quality tapwater becoming more expensive due to scarcity, there is also a conceivable scenario in which large-scale users face rising costs driven by government pricing or taxation strategies.
Opportunities
Added value
Building a strong water policy and achieving its intended objectives add value to stakeholders, such as our customers. It contributes to Royal A-ware's ambition to produce dairy products with high nutritional value and low environmental impact.
Efficiency improvement and cost reduction
Opportunities exist to reduce water consumption through enhanced efficiency and water reuse, thereby minimising dependency on water resources and lowering operational costs. In addition, measures that contribute to increasing the quality of discharge water ('cleaner waste water') can lead to lower costs for its disposal.
European and local water policy
With the government's focus on investing in knowledge and research around water conservation in business, the implementation of our goals can be accelerated.
A more resilient business
By reusing water, we are less dependent on water purchased from external suppliers, more flexible and better able to stay operational.
Approach and policy
Upstream and downstream activities are not part of the assessed materiality. Water use within our value chain, especially on dairy farms, is regulated by national and regional regulations and is included in our milk-related risk assessments. These assessments classify water use as 'controlled', allowing us to prioritise water management within our production processes.
The impact of water use at our office sites is so minimal, relative to water use at our production sites, that we exclude it from the scope.
The ESRS E3 reporting requirements cover water and marine resources. The definition of marine resources mainly refers to the extraction of biological and non-biological resources found in seas and oceans. Based on initial analysis, we conclude that our production processes have little or no impact on marine resources. However, we do see a risk in the production of tapas products that use fish. As the overall share of these products is still very limited and handled through one supplier, we will mitigate the potential impact on marine resources through our due diligence policy.
The above explanation shows that the scope of our policy is limited to water purchased from external suppliers that Royal A-ware uses at its production sites and storage facilities.
Time frame
Royal A-ware's current water policy consists of two phases:
2024 - 2026: We identify potential opportunities by mapping specific water pathways at each production site. We are exploring options and innovations to reduce water consumption at each production and storage site by improving efficiency and reuse.
2026 - 2035: We will implement actions and projects at our sites based on the previous findings.
The phases may overlap. Once a plan has been developed for a production site, we can move on to the implementation phase. In this way, the experience gained can be used toroll out measures at other production sites.
By reusing water, we are less dependent on mains water.
Water policy
Royal A-ware's water policy, which is implemented under the responsibility of the various managing directors, is focused on sustainable water withdrawal and management within our production facilities. Water reuse initiatives can provide resilience against the risk of water scarcity. Water policy consists of the following components:
Reduce water consumption by increasing efficiency
Royal A-ware aims to reduce water withdrawal within its production facilities by using water more efficiently. Therefore, we first examine where we can take those efficiency steps. Reduction contributes to lower overall water withdrawal and supports the long-term availability of water resources. It also prevents the extraction of aquatic ecosystems, which are also protected as a result.
Reduce water consumption through reuse
We are exploring further opportunities to reuse water within our production facilities without compromising hygiene or product safety. Consider water recirculation, reuse and recycling.
Recirculation: water or reused water is retained in a closed circuit for the same processing operation (e.g. chilled water) condenser cooling water in circulation or pasteurised cooling water in circulation.
Reuse: water derived from food (e.g. as a component of food, water removed from food during a process step, or water that has been in contact with food) is reused in further processes. For example, permeate from a reverse osmosis plant or condensate from milk evaporators.
Recycling: water obtained from a food processing process, other than first-use or reuse water, is first treated, cleaned or reconditioned for use, often outside its original context such as CIP final rinse water.
Wastewater management
We are also exploring ways to increase the quality of wastewater so that it is as clean as possible. First of all, we focus on process-integrated measures that ensure the reduction of water withdrawel (minimising the concentration of specific contaminants) and the reuse of water in production. We will also explore more end-of-pipe wastewater treatment techniques to further reduce the environmental impact of wastewater discharges. In doing so, we proactively prepare for potentially stricter regulations and higher costs due to wastewater discharge.
Site-specific strategy
Our focus is not exclusively on the situation in the Netherlands, where most production sites are located. We are also thoroughly evaluating Belgian sites, as a number of them are in water risk areas.
Our water policy adopts a site-specific strategy, prioritising facilities in water-scarce areas. After that, water systems at sites classified as 'major users' will be prioritised, followed by the smaller sites.
Before drafting the water policy, the situation at sites in areas of water stress was investigated. This showed that water filtration in particular is a major cause of water stress. For the locations in Belgium and the Netherlands where water stress is an issue, we are therefore investigating additional measures to capture, treat and reuse excess rainwater. Thus, we not only reduce dependence on surface and piped water, but also the risk of flooding.
Other
Currently, water policy does not address the design of products and services intended to address water-related problems and marine resource conservation. If measures can be taken to reduce water use, we will address them in the first phase of our policy: reducing water consumption. However, we consider it unlikely that impactful changes can be made in terms of product and service design.
Water policy is not based on standards or norms of external organisations
Objectives and achievements
Royal A-ware's target will align with the Dutch government's policy around reducing the use of water. The National Action Plan for Drinking Water Conservation stipulates that wholesale business users must reduce water consumption by 20 percent by 2035 compared to the 2016-2019 baseline period. This amounts to an average reduction of one percent per year.
In 2024, we are reporting on our water usage for the first time. These figures will serve as a benchmark for achieving the 1% reduction target in 2025.
Figures
Total water consumption at our production sites in 2024 was 1,943,448 (m3), of which 252,005 (m3) was used at production sites in water-stressed areas.
Water use in our dairy operations relative to our net income (per million EUR), also known as the water-intensity ratio, was 510.
Measures and actions: how we achieve our goals
Actions in 2024
By the end of 2024 a baseline measurement was carried out at all production sites. Based on this, a target was set and policy developed that will be implemented in 2025.
How do we engage our stakeholders?
At Royal A-ware, stakeholders such as QSHE officers and the Operational support team are consulted along with operational managers and directors. In addition, water policy is set by the Sustainability Steering Group.