Here at C&D Foods, we understand that water is a valuable and finite resource – not just for our operations but for the communities in which we operate, and our planet. The Earth may be covered in water, but only about 2.5% of it is freshwater, and even less—about 1%—is easily accessible for human use.

Water is an integral part of pet food production, throughout the cooking and production process. Recognising the importance of this vital resource, we embarked on a journey to better understand our water usage in our French operations eight years ago and began analysing opportunities to reduce our water consumption while maintaining high standards of hygiene and product quality.

Our efforts began in 2018 by focusing on leak repairs and we reconditioned critical equipment, such as sterilisers and water tanks for our boilers. By 2021, we had expanded our focus to include a detailed analysis of water consumption, mapping out our water networks and deepening our understanding of water flow within our factories.

Armed with this knowledge, we developed sankey diagrams creating visualisations that have helped us model the highest flow areas in production. This data-driven approach has allowed us to implement targeted strategies for improving water efficiency.

In 2022, we took our water management to the next level by introducing strict daily monitoring of water consumption. We also implemented action plans to address any gaps in our usage, ensuring we stayed on track with our sustainability goals.

These combined efforts have led to significant achievements. Since 2017, we have saved more than 115,000m³ of water and improved our water usage efficiency by more than 30%, as measured by cubic meters of water used per ton of production.

Despite our increased pet food production levels since our water reduction plans began, we have successfully reduced our overall water consumption, demonstrating our commitment to doing more with less.

As we continue to refine our water management practices, we remain dedicated to further reducing our environmental impact, while supporting sustainable growth. But our journey is far from over. We are excited about tackling the challenges of delivering a more sustainable future by continuing to look for new ways to do more with less.