With a history of several initiatives that benefit the environment, the sixth largest dairy company in Brazil improves results and plans an even more eco-friendly 2021.

Embaré has a long history of commitment to environmental preservation and sustainability. Over the years, the company has been developing several socio-environmental projects through management based on the constant search for new solutions, aimed at minimizing the impacts of the dairy manufacturing industry on the environment and contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of the company. society. With this commitment in mind, the company discloses the results of its 2020 environmental initiatives, and announces news for 2021.

Certified in the international standard ISO 14001 since 2003, the mining company has an Environmental Management System that helps it to identify, prioritize and manage its environmental risks as part of its usual practices. “The standard requires the industry to commit to pollution prevention and continuous improvement as part of the normal business management cycle”, highlights the company's quality assurance manager, Luiz Augusto Rezende Lima.

Through a partnership established for the technological reuse of some of its waste, Embaré manages to have 50 kilos of waste per year destined for co-processing, reducing the forecast of final disposal of waste in industrial landfills from 8,8% to 3,5 .XNUMX%.

Luiz Augusto, also highlights other initiatives: “We invested heavily in the Industrial Effluent Treatment Station (ETEI), ensuring a reduction of more than 96% in the organic load of the effluent, meeting all the requirements imposed by environmental agencies, and 100% reuse of the generated biogas. We have already reduced the consumption of biomass and allocated approximately 384 tons/year of biofertilizer to enrich the soil and cultivate different crops such as corn and soybeans, for example. In addition, we cannot forget the actions to reduce the consumption of water, energy, steam and chemicals in the factory, which mainly contribute to the conscious consumption of non-renewable resources and recycling and reverse logistics for the proper disposal of waste”, he declares. the manager.

The construction of the ETEI, whose objective is to improve the quality of the water released into the receiving body and produce biofertilizer from solid waste, took place in 1997, and has already undergone two expansions, one of capacity in 2008 and another of quality of processing in 2016, which ensured better results. It is currently one of the most modern in the country. The effluents are submitted to a physical, chemical and biological treatment in anaerobic lagoons and stabilization lagoons. Already treated and analyzed in an exclusive laboratory, the water is returned to the environment.

ETEI also develops practices for maintaining the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an important model recognized worldwide that aims to generate clean energy and reduce carbon emissions. Part of the biogas, composed mainly of methane, generated in the ETEI, is conducted to a generator and, from its combustion, it is transformed into electrical energy, used for the maintenance of the entire ETEI. By this method, 500.000 Kwh of electricity are generated per year, enough energy to supply 320 popular homes in this period. The other part of the biogas returns to the factory and is used as fuel for the generation of steam in the boiler which, in a period of one year, generates a reduction of 1,76 million kilos in the consumption of chips, the biomass usually burned in the boiler. , responsible for the emission of 775 tons of CO2 in the period. With this, the company reduces the cutting of approximately 80 thousand eucalyptus trees per year and stops emitting 800 thousand m³ of methane into the atmosphere.

In order to reduce water consumption, Embaré develops several actions for the conscious use of the resource. One of them is the system for recovering evaporated water in the milk concentration and drying process, in which the lines are equipped with conductivity meters and automatic valves that direct the water to processes that require low hardness water. Level gauges are also used in the milk reception bays, enabling the reuse of condensed water to generate steam in the boiler. Another system used is aimed at real-time monitoring of water consumption in the industry, providing immediate actions in case of deviations.

With these actions, the company's average consumption rate is 1,33 liters of water per liter of processed milk, while the national average for dairy products is 3,5 liters of water per liter of processed milk. The reduction in water consumption is around 1,3 million m³ per year, which would be enough to supply 20 popular homes in this period.

Evidencing even more the company's concern with the environment, through the Internal Energy Conservation Commission (CICE), Embaré establishes monthly measures to be adopted within the company's production process, to reduce energy, water and steam.

Partnership with Polen

The big news for a more sustainable 2021 at Embaré is through a partnership with Polen, a company specializing in reverse logistics solutions. Luiz Augusto explains that hiring the startup covers the entire country and aims to recycle 22% of the volume of packaging that was placed on the market in 2020, in a compensation model. “Polen's work consists of mapping, accrediting and developing recycling operators. Accreditation includes a thorough assessment of social issues involved in recycling work and project development is based on providing necessary equipment, training and other needs demanded by the operators themselves,” explains the manager.

“Embaré has always been fully committed to sustainability and this partnership with Polen in the application of shared responsibility for the life cycle of products, further improves processes, certifying and guaranteeing the governance of reverse logistics in accordance with the law,” concludes Luiz Augusto.