“Sustainability”, A Buzz Word With Traction
Sustainability is a buzzword for sure, but it’s getting real traction in the marketplace. Consumers are paying more attention to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, trends in buying more secondhand clothing has now become chic. Businesses see the benefit of creating less waste, being more efficient with energy and polluting less. It is not all about making a statement on being environmentally responsible, but it crosses over into economic sustainability as well. A business is more economically sustainable when it is more efficient, and a consumer is in a more economically strong position when purchasing secondhand goods.
Supporting sustainability trends is an area we don’t talk enough about. We can provide many sustainability solutions where we can provide value to a waste stream. For example, a meat or vegetable by-product that might be a net cost to a processor, could become a new profit contributor to the business. Or maybe there are two food processors with very different waste products. Let’s say a bakery and slaughterhouse, an example I heard of just recently. They can work together to combine their waste streams that is a net cost to the business or adds to the local landfill or sewage system to create a new product. Extruding the combination of waste products can sterilize, stabilize and homogenize a unique end product that has nutritional value.
Our team of nutritionists and the use of our R&D Center provides a set of great resources to work with you in evaluating some of these creative ideas. A former Insta-Pro employee would regularly say the high-shear dry extruder’s use is only limited to a person’s imagination. It is not just a soy crushing or corn gelatinizing piece of equipment, but a potential solution to help with a variety of ingredients.
The impact of COVID has changed many things in the business world. It also has contributed to the increased attention to sustainability. Now is the time to consider improving your business’ sustainability and gain traction on not only being a good corporate citizen, but add value to your bottom line at the same time.
