FDBusiness.com

A £22 million investment by ABP Food Group’s renewable division in a green energy plant will produce enough sustainable energy to power the equivalent of 12,000 homes. ABP’s renewables division, Olleco, has just opened the new 15 MW Anaerobic Digestion facility in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

The ABP Food Group facility is located adjacent to the Arla dairy, allowing the dairy to become a zero carbon milk processing facility.

Robert Behan, MD of Olleco, says the new facility, is an excellent example of the circular economy in action, with multiple supply chain partners working together to deliver a truly sustainable outcome. “This state of the art Olleco facility will convert in excess of 100,000 tonnes of waste into heat, power and bio-methane for export to the national grid, and bio-fertiliser for both of ABP Food Group’s and Arla’s farmer suppliers.”

He continues: “Sustainability is a key priority right across the ABP Food Group. The company has invested and implemented innovative sustainability measures that are world class, trail blazing and meet the exceptionally high targets – to reduce the environmental footprint of our business – we have set ourselves.”

ABP Food Group is recognised as an industry leader when it comes to sustainable practices and environmental initiatives. In 2015 the company opened the world’s first certified carbon neutral abattoir in Ellesmere where waste material from the food processing operation is used in conjunction with used cooking oil to provide the energy requirements on site. Earlier this year, ABP achieved triple accreditation from The Carbon Trust for the third consecutive year and is one of only a handful of companies to have achieved such accreditation.

Olleco, the renewables division of ABP Food Group, collects waste food and cooking oil from the retail and food service sector and converts this waste into bio diesel, bio gas and bio fertiliser. The company employs over 600 people across the UK.