Sustainability remains top of the agenda in foodservice, and rightly so as we continue to work towards achieving net zero by 2050. Kitchens are heavy energy users and any opportunity to help caterers reduce their energy consumption should be welcomed. But sustainability goes beyond the energy used by our appliances.
As a business, MKN believes that climate protection can only be effective in a company if it is consistently implemented at all levels. Our sustainability strategies and initiatives cover everything from products, to suppliers and facilities, focusing not only on our own processes, but also on the way we work with suppliers and wider society.
Of course. products sit at the heart of this focus. We continue to invest in the development of environmentally friendly products and technologies, designing all production processes to be as energy-saving and low-emission as possible.
By their nature, MKN products have an extremely long service life and they are developed to conserve resources, reduce CO2 emissions and avoid waste.
Key highlights include our induction ranges, which reduce the energy consumption of boiling kettles by 25% compared to previous MKN technology and the boiling time by 55% compared to hot plates.
Also, the ReadyXpress® technology in the MKN FlexiChef®, which can save 15 tons of CO2 per year, based on four ReadyXpress® cycles, saving up to 90% in water consumption, up to 66% in energy consumption and 100% of chemicals.
The FlexiCombi’s® intelligent technology saves 36% in water consumption and 28% in energy consumption, while the SpaceCombi® reduces energy by 28% and connected load by 25%.
Sustainability strategies
However, this is about more than just products. We are also constantly developing sustainability strategies and initiating and monitoring their implementation. This includes the environmental impact of the entire value chain, more responsible use of plastics, the use of clean energy, automation of process and more sustainable production.
By using local suppliers where possible and ensuring 100% production in Germany at only one location, we have enabled a 35% reduction in CO2 through new production sites and technologies. In addition, carboard consumption is down 10%, paper down 50% and styrofoam down 100%.
Other initiatives include:
- Using a new on-demand packaging machine, MKN optimally packages around 2,500 different spare parts of various sizes and in millions of possible combinations. The result is less packaging material and better utilisation of freight space, plus reduced pallet shipping and faster delivery to the customer. This also reduces the CO2 footprint by more than eight tons per year.
- By supporting and initiating the use of data, we can drive a lean production approach, minimise the use of resources and avoid waste within its own processes. Developing digital solutions such as the MKN Digital Centre can also save energy, reduce material usage and simplify communication for customers.
- The business has reduced CO2 emissions by relying on an electricity mix with a predominant share of renewable energies of over 60%.
- MKN is certified according to the international environmental management standard ISO14001, which sets a global framework for excellence in environmental management systems.
- The business has also taken steps to avoiding food waste, use environmentally friendly take-away packaging, serve locally sourced products and introduce a sustainable food offering when catering for employees.
We still have more to do, but we’re proud of the progress made so far in building a structured programme of initiatives and activities to help conserve resources, reduce CO2 emissions and avoid waste. And we will continue to work hard to drive sustainability across the business.
Further details:
For more information, please visit www.mkn.com.
