Energy Conservation
In 2005, our Sydney Factory built an energy-efficient warehouse with a sensor lighting system and superior insulation - reducing its power usage significantly.

The Sydney Factory's warehouse uses a sensor lighting system and superior insulation to improve energy efficiency for the facility. Skylights were installed to minimise the lighting required and all lighting is on a sensor, turning off automatically when there is sufficient natural light inside the building. The warehouse won the NSW Government’s Energy & Water Green Globe Award in 2005.

Sydney Factory and New Zealand Offices use Sensor Lights

Lights in offices at Sydney factory site and NZ commercial office are on a sensor so they automatically turn off when a room in unoccupied. At the Sydney factory, lights have also been changed to LED in conference and meeting rooms, saving 70% of energy.

In 2009 Wrigley’s Sydney factory site exceeded its target of a 5% reduction in energy use, achieving 9% reduction.

Wrigley’s Commercial offices in Sydney and New Zealand are now powered using Green Energy.

The office in Sydney uses 100% green energy sourced from the Lake Bonney Wind Farm in South Australia. The switch to wind power reduces Wrigley's annual footprint by approximately 111 tonnes of CO² emissions, the equivalent of taking 53 cars off our roads for a year.

Wind farms like Lake Bonney do not emit greenhouse gases in the generation of electricity, making wind energy a highly desirable form of renewable energy.

Carbon Emissions

Wrigley Pacific is addressing carbon emissions through its sales fleets. Since November 2008, 50% of the sales fleet has been converted to run on LPG providing an estimated reduction of 50,400kgs of carbon emissions each year. LPG is a cleaner and cheaper option, with no carbon emissions and plans continue in 2010 for more of the fleet to be changed over. By the end of 2010, 66% of Wrigley Pacific’s sales fleet will be running on LPG.

A change in our practice of importing merchandising has also resulted in fewer trucks on the road and reduced transportation domestically and where possible, communication is now conducted remotely, using phone conferencing to reduce travel and carbon emissions.

Water Conservation
Sydney, Australia and Sydney Water Partnership

In 2004 Wrigley's Sydney facility set a target to reduce water usage. The facility began participating in Sydney Water Corporation's ‘Every Drop Counts’ program. In partnership with Sydney Water, the factory underwent an extensive water usage audit, which required the installation of meters and data-logging devices throughout the facility. Using insights from the audit, the factory implemented conservation practices across the production operations and factory amenities. In the first year, the facility reduced its water usage by 29%, while production increased 6.6%. Conservation efforts continue with further water usage reductions accomplished year on year. Due to the results achieved at our Sydney factory, Wrigley Australia was recently featured as a positive water conservation case study by the Sydney Water Corporation in their promotion of responsible water use.

Melbourne Factory

Our Melbourne factory has used a Business Water Grant Fund to complete a water saving initiative that has seen a reduction in water usage of 27% over the last 12 months. Rainwater captured from 20% of the roof area, is used for all amenities at the Melbourne factory site, including all toilet and hand washing facilities and general office cleaning. The rain water tanks currently have the ability to store 60,000L, with plans in place this year to install more tanks which will more than double their capacity. Other water optimisation initiatives are currently being explored to further reduce water usage.

Sydney Factory

At the Sydney factory in December 2009, 90,000L rain water tanks were installed with the captured rain water being used for all site amenities, hard surface washing and pallet cleaning. Plans are currently in place to expand captured rainwater usage on site throughout 2010.

Recycling and Waste Disposal
Sydney Factory

The Sydney factory now recycles or reuses 100% of its disposable waste. Since January 2009, waste has been sent to a bio-reactor, generating alternative electricity and since August 2009 100% of disposable waste is recovered in this way.

Recycling programs began in the Sydney factory in 2004. Since then, waste divisions have been streamlined so that there are now more categories of recyclable waste. For example, unusable pallets would have gone to landfill, but now timber is recycled as a separate category. By 2008 67% of all waste was able to be recycled. And by 2009 this figure was 74% and continues to rise.

Food waste bi-products from the Sydney factory are now sent for reuse at a feed stock company – for use in pet food or the production process, resulting in 100% reuse of this waste.

Since 2007 100% of all Sydney factory liquid food waste is sent to alternative energy producer Earthpower. The high sugar content of the waste is very popular with the digesting bugs, helping to generate more power.

Melbourne Factory

In all areas of our business are associates participate in identifying sustainability initiatives. For example, at the Melbourne factory site, associates changed the coffee machine to now dispense paper cups, rather than polystyrene, as paper cups break down more easily when recycled.