About Us
Our Businesses
Investors
Responsibility
Media
About Us
Our Businesses
Investors
Responsibility
Media
The anaerobic digestion facility at AB Mauri's yeast plant in Hull, UK
AB Mauri and ABFI are looking to improve the efficiency and resilience of their operations by producing more while using less energy and switching to renewables. They also seek to help customers reduce their GHG emissions. Many of their customers, particularly in the EU and UK, have ambitious GHG emission reduction targets, including Scope 3 emissions.
In 2024, the Ingredients segment saw a 7% decrease of total energy consumption compared with 2023, reducing from 1,336 GWh to 1,238 GWh in 2024. Of the total energy consumed in 2024, 22% was from a renewable energy source including biogas, wood and on-site solar. The number of sites with on-site solar energy has increased by 25% in 2024, and the segment contributes 18% of the Group’s consumed self-generated renewable energy. The segment’s Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) GHG emissions decreased by 11% compared with 2023.
Total energy consumed and proportion from a renewable source
(GWh)
Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) GHG emissions
(000 tonnes of CO2e)
AB Mauri’s approach to GHG emissions is governed by its Environment Policy, which requires its businesses to identify opportunities to mitigate emissions and to collaborate and share best practice across the division. AB Mauri does not have division-wide GHG emission targets, however its businesses are required to assess the carbon impact of any major capital investments, particularly those affecting Scope 1 or 2 emissions, and this is considered as part of the capital investments approval process.
To support these efforts, AB Mauri provides its businesses with an internally developed tool to forecast GHG emissions up to 2030. This tool factors in five-year capital plans, projecting the impact of various initiatives on emission levels, changes in production volumes and shifts in electricity grid carbon intensity where data is available. The global and regional results are reviewed twice a year by the global leadership team, led by the Head of Environment and regional managing directors.
AB Mauri focuses on reducing energy use and emissions by investing in energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy. Its sites have access to a wealth of energy efficiency tools, specific guidance and a shared database of successful carbon reduction initiatives already implemented by other sites. Additionally, AB Mauri leverages a network of regional engineering and operational experts to evaluate and implement the most impactful new energy technologies. AB Mauri is subject to volatility in the cost of energy, particularly for electricity and natural gas. It has identified several opportunities to reduce both energy costs and emissions. Some of these include implementing energy efficiency measures, generating renewable energy on-site, and exploring fixed-term power purchasing agreements with renewable energy suppliers.
In 2024, AB Mauri used 1,030 GWh of energy, an 8% reduction compared with 1,116 GWh consumed in 2023. This is driven by a reduction of natural gas at its site in Italy as part of its energy saving strategy. This has been achieved by the installation of a new blower which has enabled the site to retire a natural gas turbine previously used for peak energy requirements and exporting electricity to the grid when not needed for own operations. Renewable energy sources, including biogas, wood and on-site solar, accounted for 24% of the total energy consumed.
An increasing number of AB Mauri sites are purchasing renewable energy from external suppliers, with manufacturing sites in Brazil, Colombia and Spain all using 100% renewable electricity. AB Mauri businesses in Mexico and India achieved approximately 67% and 79% renewable electricity respectively during 2023/24. AB Mauri sites in Argentina now purchase 20% of their electricity directly from a renewable supplier. Some sites in Italy, Spain, the US and Mexico also have on-site solar installations. In some AB Mauri’s yeast plants, biogas created from biological wastewater treatment is turned into a source of heat and/or power for operations where feasible.
AB Mauri’s Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) GHG emissions decreased by 13% compared with 2023 from 243 ktCO2e to 212 ktCO2e. The emissions from biogenic carbon, which are mainly from its yeast fermentation process, have also reduced this year by 4%.
AB Mauri has undertaken a number of projects to decarbonise operations across its businesses and geographies. Its yeast plants are focused on energy efficiency, in particular advanced fermentation aeration technology, new highly efficient natural gas boilers, steam distribution optimisation and new heat recovery technologies. This year, its plant in Casteggio, Italy introduced a new biogas-powered boiler, using renewable energy from its anaerobic digestion process to generate low-carbon heat. Its plant in Tucuman, Argentina installed equipment that uses hot air from the yeast fermentation process to pre-heat water for cleaning, replacing steam produced with natural gas. This initiative has cut GHG emissions by close to 100 tCO2e in 2024 compared with 2023, a saving that is expected to more than double once the technology has been fully rolled out.
In addition, at a plant in Palmira, Colombia, heat generated during the effluent treatment process is recycled to pre-heat incoming effluent to the required temperature, avoiding the use of steam produced using natural gas and resulting in a reduction of associated GHG emissions by over 800 tCO2e per year compared with the same system without this technology.
AB Mauri has also acted to reduce fugitive GHG emissions that are not directly related to energy. In January 2024, its plant in Atzala, Mexico, installed a new system to eliminate emissions related to its anaerobic wastewater treatment process. The system collects and combusts gases emitted as organic matter decomposes, greatly reducing emissions of biomethane and other gases by converting them into biogenic carbon dioxide. The system is expected to reduce non-biogenic emissions by approximately 100 tCO2e per year.
During the year, ABFI consumed 208 GWh of total energy, which is a decrease of 6% compared with 2023, with 11% of the total energy used coming from renewable sources. Additionally, Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) GHG emissions dropped by 5%, decreasing from 49 ktCO2e in 2023 to 46 ktCO2e in 2024. This reduction was supported through equipment replacement at sites which has led to an increase in energy efficiency.
ABFI’s approach to energy management, GHG emission reduction and renewable energy transition is guided by its Environmental Policy, which promotes energy efficiency and continual efforts to minimise environmental impacts. ABFI’s businesses focus on heat recovery and invest in renewable energy sources. Currently five out of 10 production sites use renewable electricity, with two sites using 100% renewable electricity. While there is no division-wide target for emissions reduction, each business develops its own strategies and processes, allowing each business to tailor its efforts to the specific needs and opportunities of its local environment.
Ohly is working to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions through decarbonising its Hamburg site. This includes ongoing efforts to switch energy sources from natural gas to electricity where feasible. Additionally, Ohly has installed electric vehicle charging stations to help employees reduce their carbon footprint.
AB Mauri is working to calculate a full Scope 3 carbon footprint, which is expected to be primarily driven by emissions from purchased goods and services. AB Mauri purchases large quantities of raw materials, including molasses and ammonia for yeast production, as well as a wide range of agricultural ingredients, specialised additives and other inputs for its bakery ingredients business. Other material categories are likely to include GHG emissions related to upstream energy and capital expenditure.
At ABFI, AB Enzymes and Ohly work with a consultant to calculate their Scope 3 emissions. These Scope 3 assessments help to identify opportunities for GHG emission reduction activities and inform their GHG emissions reduction strategies across their value chains.
Other ABFI businesses are calculating their Scope 3 emissions, recognising that understanding where emissions occur within the value chain and identifying the most material categories is crucial for implementing effective reduction activities with value chain partners. Fytexia, PGPI, and SPI Pharma are building in-house capabilities to accurately calculate and account for these emissions, developing strategies aimed at reducing their overall Scope 3 footprint.
Some Ingredients businesses provide products and services that have the potential to assist others in reducing their carbon emissions, often referred to as carbon enablement. Carbon enablement is integral to these businesses’ customer proposition and a key focus for investment and innovation.
AB Enzymes, an industrial biotech company that specialises in the development of enzymes used in multiple industries for various applications, has enablement at the core of its purpose. Enzymes are biological catalysts that essentially accelerate biochemical reactions, making them a very effective alternative to petrochemical-based products.
AB Enzymes has developed a number of innovative products that enable emissions reductions in comparison to using traditional products, with no impact on product performance, such as ECOPLULP®.
EDITOR NOTE:
This is the modal area for the above carousel. Please be careful when copying this to UAT or PROD. It would be best to include Cian in these movements. The carousel above has buttons which have ID tags which open the below containers. Be careful to maintain the ID tags.
AB Mauri Maya's yeast plant in Bandrima, Türkiye
A core part of AB Mauri’s GHG emissions reduction strategy is investing in energy efficiency, particularly at its yeast production plants. Yeast production requires both electricity and heat, primarily to create steam, which is used throughout the process to keep equipment sterile. Recovering heat from this production process to use in another is a key way energy use can be reduced.
At its site in Bandirma, Turkey, a state-of-the-art two-stage economiser was added to an existing steam boiler in 2024. The economiser now takes flue gas waste heat from the boiler, which was previously lost, recycling it to heat cold water coming into the boiler. The project reduced the site’s emissions by approximately 200 tCO2e in 2024. Another significant investment in improved evaporator technology has enhanced overall site efficiency by improving co-products processing. This contributes to an annual reduction in emissions of over 1,300 tCO2e.
Energy efficiency equipment at AB Mauri's factory in Casteggio, Italy
AB Mauri's yeast plant in Casteggio, Italy, is decarbonising its operations through the implementation of various technologies and initiatives. The focus has primarily been on improving energy efficiency through advanced fermentation aeration technology, high-efficiency natural gas boilers, steam distribution optimisation and new heat recovery systems.
In 2024, the plant introduced a new boiler that uses renewable biogas, generated as a by-product of its anaerobic digestion water treatment process, to supply low-carbon heat. These efforts have reduced carbon intensity (tCO2e/tonne of product) by 9% since 2018, excluding changes in grid electricity carbon intensity. Further reductions are expected in 2025 as additional energy efficiency measures, including rooftop solar panels, are implemented, allowing for the decommissioning of a natural gas turbine.
Lab colleague testing enzymes for pulp and paper at AB Enzymes, Finland
The pulp and paper industry faces numerous challenges in resource usage and efficiency, as well as reducing emissions. Cellulase enzymes, including AB Enzymes’ ECOPULP®, are seen as part of the solution to these and many other challenges.
Cellulase enzymes are responsible for the degradation of cellulose structures, which are a major component of plant cell walls and thus wood pulp, the primary material in paper making. Cellulase enzymes impact paper and pulp milling in three key ways:
Findings show that the addition of AB Enzymes’ ECOPULP® cellulase enzymes to non-integrated paper mill production over a 72-hour period demonstrated immediate production benefits on the paper fibre. This included a 20% reduction in the refining energy required, which equates to a potential emissions reduction of 15.6 kg CO2e/kWh for one tonne of enzyme treated pulp compared to untreated pulp in a paper refining process.
Lab colleague testing enzymes for pulp and paper at AB Enzymes, Finland
AB Enzymes, an industrial biotech company that specialises in the development of enzymes used in multiple industries for various applications, has enablement at the core of its purpose. Enzymes are biological catalysts that essentially accelerate biochemical reactions, making them a very effective alternative to petrochemical-based products. AB Enzymes has developed a number of innovative products that enable emissions reductions with no impact on product performance.
For instance, BIOTOUCH® is a washing powder incorporating a specialist enzyme developed by the business, that allows the average washing temperature to be decreased by 13°C. This can potentially lower electricity consumption by about 260 kWh or 120 kg of CO2e per 1,000 washes1.
Another product, ECOSTONE®, reduces the water temperature needed for biopolishing cotton textiles, a process that cleans the surface and removes fluff, from 50°C to 30°C. This can result in energy savings of approximately 350 kWh or 360 kg of CO2e for every tonne of cotton processed, a significant reduction given the carbon-intensive nature of textile processing2.
1. Calculations are based on the emissions saving from the reduced energy consumption when using an average detergent and washing machine type with 164 cycles per household in Central Europe. The use of the enzyme results in an average reduction of 13°C in washing temperature compared to when using an average detergent, which equates to a reduction of 258 kWh electricity and 119kg avoided emissions per 1,000 washing cycles.
2. Calculations are based on the emissions savings from the reduced energy consumption in the South East Asia region, which is the largest cotton producing region. The use of the enzymes results in an average reduction of 20°C in water temperature, which equates to a reduction of 350 kWh and 360 kg avoided emissions for every tonne of fabric processed compared to untreated biopolishing processes.
An AB Mauri colleague at the Global Strain Development Center in St. Louis, United States
AB Mauri is developing solutions to help its customers adapt to the challenges posed by climate change. A key example of this effort is the development of yeast strains for bioethanol production that can perform efficiently at higher temperatures.
Fermentation typically takes place in temperatures between 30-34°C. Temperatures higher than this can cause heat stress to yeast cells, which reduces fermentation efficiency and impacts overall yield (i.e. the amount of bioethanol produced for a given quantity of input).
As ambient summer temperatures rise with climate change, bioethanol producers require increasing amounts of energy to cool the fermentation process to ensure decent yields. To address this issue, AB Mauri has launched a new product called Summit Olympus in Europe, India and other markets which operates at higher temperatures bands, reducing costs for cooling compared to traditional methods and maintaining optimal yields.
