Water

In the meat production process, large amounts of water are used, particularly during the cleaning of packaging materials, machinery, and production areas. This water needs to be cleaned and transported: a process that consumes a considerable amount of energy.

This concerns the use of water across all Van Loon Group production sites.

We aim to minimise the volume of water used as well as the level of water pollution.

CSO

Although overall water consumption decreased slightly in 2024, consumption per externally sold kilogram of product increased by 1.9%. In recent years, there has been insufficient focus on reducing water usage. To address this, the reporting process was revised at the end of 2024. Water consumption and the number of pollution units in wastewater are now reported quarterly, and sites have been instructed to develop a reduction plan in 2025.

In the coming year, we will focus on further reducing water consumption and pollution units in wastewater.

To facilitate monitoring, we will install water meters at all relevant locations that can be read out at a central site.
In collaboration with Nijhuis company, we will conduct a feasibility study into post-treatment of our wastewater at the Denekamp site. In addition to promoting more sustainable water management, this should also result in cost savings.

The wastewater situation at Oude-Tonge site is also being examined. This will allow us to make targeted improvements and reduce water consumption and pollution units in wastewater.