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Cadbury Colleagues Put their Energy into Going Green

Cadbury Colleagues Put their Energy into Going Green

Published 04-03-09

Submitted by Cadbury

- April 3, 2009 - Bertie Bassett and his new wife Betty put staff at Cadbury’s Sheffield factory through their paces recently as the company’s energy suppliers, EDF Energy, brought its Energy Efficiency Live road show to town. The event was designed to encourage more than 700 staff at the factory "“ where Bassetts and Trebor sweets are made "“ to cut down their energy use both at work and in the home. The roadshow was also held at Cadbury's Bournville site, with over 600 colleagues taking part.

The inspiring days at both sites involved interactive exhibits designed to educate colleagues on energy reduction, including:

  • The Body Zone "“ including two "energy bikes" where colleagues sweated it out to see how much energy it takes to power every day office and domestic appliances;

  • Interactive computer games including a Climate Change touch screen quiz, as well as facts and figures about how much money we waste each year simply by leaving TVs and DVD players on stand by;

  • A Superhero Game, whereby staff enter a virtual office with a mission to switch off any equipment that's not in use. For example, switching off a computer monitor when it's not being used can save a balloon full of CO2 every 90 minutes.
The events were part of Cadbury's global Purple Goes Green programme, aimed at reducing the company’s carbon footprint through energy savings. In 2007, Cadbury committed to an absolute reduction in carbon emissions of 50% by 2020, setting the pace for food manufacturers. The company also set targets for packaging and water, and progress against these commitments can be found in Cadbury's 2007/08 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability review at: www.dearcadbury.com.

Matt Bardell, Environment Manager for Cadbury Britain and Ireland, said: "As a company we have a global commitment to bringing down our energy use, and we wanted to instil that in our staff, too. By getting everyone involved in a fun and interactive way, hopefully it will send the message that small, and often cost-free changes at work and at home, can make a lasting difference. For example if you leave your computer monitor on overnight, it wastes enough energy to microwave six dinners!"

Tim Jeffries, the Sheffield factory Energy Manager who is leading the site's Purple Goes Green programme, said: "It's hard to believe how much energy we waste unnecessarily. If everyone does their little bit, such as turning off unnecessary lighting and turning down the thermostat, it would make a massive difference to the environment and to the economy. I think all our factory colleagues saw how easy it is to make a difference at today's EDF Energy event."

Julie Allen, Energy Efficiency Manager at EDF Energy, comments: "Energy Awareness days are a great way to engage staff in the fight against climate change. We believe that learning about reducing energy usage can actually be fun, which is why we focus on providing activities that are informative and entertaining at the same time. We were really impressed with the team at Cadbury, they threw themselves into the day and all seem determined to make a difference, so watch this space!"

For more information or additional high resolution images, contact Ruth Ward at Rewired PR or call 0121 236 2132.

Notes to Editors:

About Cadbury
Cadbury is a leading global confectionery company with an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands. It has the largest and most broadly spread emerging markets business of any confectionery company. With origins stretching back nearly 200 years, Cadbury's brands include many global, regional and local favourites including Cadbury, Creme Egg and Green & Black's in chocolate; Trident, Dentyne, Hollywood and Bubbaloo in gum; and Halls, Cadbury Eclairs, Bassett’s and The Natural Confectionery Company in candy.

About Purple Goes Green
In June 2007, Cadbury set the following targets:

  • Energy "“ 50% reduction in our absolute carbon emissions/li>
  • Packaging "“ 10% reduction in standard product packaging and a more stretching target of 25% for seasonal and gift ranges

  • Water "“ 100% of "water scarce" sites will have water reduction programmes in place

  • Advocacy - Campaign for change with colleagues, suppliers, customers, peers, civil society and consumers


Initial progress in meeting these targets has been significant:


Energy
  • By the end of 2007 Cadbury had reduced its carbon emissions by 3 per cent, as compared to 2006, and estimates a 10 per cent reduction by 2010.
  • In 2007, all the electricity used in Ireland was changed to power provided by wind turbines, reducing the carbon emissions for the Irish business by almost 40%.

  • In 2008, Cadbury launched the largest roof top solar installation in New South Wales, Australia. The system is made up of a total of 640 solar panels and is capable of producing enough energy to power 21 homes while saving 140 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions or the equivalent to taking 35 cars off the road.

  • Cadbury has made considerable progress in implementing renewable energy sources, such as: hydropower to supply sites in Tasmania and Ghana; solar heating in Pakistan; and renewable power in Canada. At its Induri site in India, bagasse from the local sugar industry is used to fuel boilers on site. In Baura in Brazil, the heat of the sun is used to generate hot water for the kitchens and amenities block.
Packaging
  • Cadbury Eco Eggs were a new product for Easter 2008 which have no cardboard box and are just wrapped in foil. This reduces plastic by 78 per cent and used 65 per cent less cardboard than a standard egg. The eggs won a Green Award for Best Green Packaging in November 2008

  • In 2008, Cadbury North America launched a new display case for products such as Trident Xtra Care, using 50 per cent less cardboard. As well as saving on materials, these display cases were also more efficient to transport.
Water
  • Cadbury reduced consumption of water by 10% between 2006 and 2007. Cadbury used approximately nine million tonnes of water in 2007 compared with ten million in 2006.

  • Cadbury's Huntingwood site in Australia was awarded a Sydney Water Innovation Award for introducing waterless lubrication in its production. This has now been introduced across 12 lines in Australia and New Zealand.

  • Cadbury's Bangalore factory has harvested, cleaned and filtered rainwater for recharging the aquifer, providing assistance for 40 per cent of the population dependent on groundwater. The storm water from the roof of the factory is collected and is re-used directly into cooling towers and boilers.
More information on Cadbury's progress can be found on the Corporate Website and www.dearcadbury.com

About EDF Energy

The combination of EDF Energy and British Energy forms one of the UK’s largest energy companies. The combined business is the UK’s largest producer of electricity. With a current installed capacity of around 16.5GW, we produce almost one-quarter of the nation's electricity from our nuclear, coal and gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and wind farms.

We provide power to a quarter of the UK’s population via our electricity distribution networks in London, the South East and the East of England and supply gas and electricity to over 5.5 million business and residential customers.

Through Our Climate and Social Commitments we have launched the biggest environmental and social packages of any UK energy company. The company is also a key player in national infrastructure projects including management of private electricity networks serving four London airports and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the country’s first major new railway in 100 years.

EDF Energy and British Energy together employ nearly 20,000 people at locations across the UK. The combined companies are part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. EDF is the official energy utilities partner and sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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