Consumer goods company Nestlé's East and South Africa (ESAR) arm has conducted a pilot using an AI and machine learning-driven plant to convert carbon emissions into green products and recycle industrial wastewater.
Nestlé is currently the largest food company in the world, but its history has been marred by controversy. Credit: Richard Juilliart / Shutterstock
The pilot was conducted at Nestlé's Babelegi factory in Pretoria, South Africa, in collaboration with The Emissions Capture Company (ECCO) alongside its "WhiteBox" technology, which specifically targets scope 1 carbon emissions, recycled wastewater and converts them into "everyday items" according to its CEO.
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The WhiteBox converts flue gas emissions into sustainable by-products, which can be sold directly or turned into a wide array of consumer goods products, including animal feed, human food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical products.
The tech can also apparently be used to target and reduce sulphur dioxide emissions - which is commonly emitted when burning fossil fuels, still an important aspect of industry in developing nations - without the need for water.
Nestlé is planning on scaling up operations to other plants in the region, which could help alleviate any food shortages in the region or stop toxic wastewater from polluting local systems.
"We are extremely proud to be pioneering this industry-first technology on the African continent", said Nestlé ESAR Public Affairs Director Saint-Francis Tohlang said in a statement.
"This success takes us to the next phase, where we will be looking to scale this operation to other factories to deliver significant reductions in Scope 1 emissions in ESAR".
Data collected from the 8,000-hour pilot suggests the WhiteBox may be able to capture anywhere between 25% and 70% of all scope 1 carbon emissions. Much of this is done via direct air capture, low-fuel operations and energy-efficient gas processing.
Tohlang also predicts as much as 100,000 cubic metres of wastewater can be recycled per year per facility - equating to roughly 100 million litres.
"This partnership helps pave the way for a green economy", said Thomas F Darden, ECCO’s CEO. "By design, the shift from legacy technologies to low carbon emission processes also improves livelihoods through employment creation, training, and upskilling".
Nestlé has long been under fire for its actions in the developing world in recent decades, which has led to a slew of controversies levied at the company, from manipulating markets and exploiting poor communities with its baby formulas, to becoming one of the world's largest plastic polluters, which has come alongside its status as the world's largest bottled water company.
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It has also been embroiled in lawsuits over its alleged use of child slavery in Africa. An internal presentation earlier this year also revealed the company found that at least 60% of its products were "unhealthy".
The company has, however, pledged to tackle the growing issue of plastic pollution and even revealed its plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050 back in 2019.
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