Cargill reduces greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas usage
8 June 2009
Contact: Rebecca Hayne, (316) 291-2126, rebecca_hayne@cargill.com
Rob Meijer, (204) 947-6370, rob_meijer@cargill.com
HIGH RIVER, Alberta, Canada- Cargill today announced it has successfully registered and sold over 400,000 tonnes of Verified Emission Offsets through the Canadian Standards Association. The emission offsets originate from a methane gas capture project at the wastewater treatment system of its beef processing facility in High River, Alberta.
The project enables the facility to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emitted from wastewater lagoons by utilizing the biogas in plant boilers. The project includes the capture of biogas containing approximately 75 percent methane from the facility's wastewater lagoons and the beneficial use of the biogas to reduce natural gas usage at the plant. Approximately 25 percent of the facility's natural gas usage has been displaced by the project through the capture of biogas.
"We're proud of our accomplishments in reducing carbon emissions at our beef plant in High River," said Scott Entz, Cargill general manager. "But we're not satisfied. We'll continue to work to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of our overall environmental and energy strategy."
The project will continue to generate emission offsets according to the provisions of the Alberta Environment Quantification Protocol for Methane Capture from the Anaerobic Treatment of Industrial Wastewater (AENV, 2009). The opportunity for generating carbon offsets arises mainly from direct and indirect reductions of greenhouse gas emissions achieved through the capture and combustion of biogas, produced during wastewater treatment processes used in the food processing industry. The offsets were verified by an independent, qualified verifier and serialized and registered in accordance with the guidance documents of the Alberta Specified Gas Emitters Regulation.
Blue Source Canada, an emission offset service and marketing company, worked with Cargill to develop a means to quantify the environmental impact and market the resulting emission offsets. "Cargill's wastewater treatment project was one of the largest high quality offset projects we worked with over the past couple of years. We appreciate the opportunity to work with Cargill to bring the emission offsets to market," said Robert Andrews, President of Blue Source Canada. Buying emission offsets is one means by which large emitters can meet their compliance obligation under the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation. "This project is an excellent example of the offset market's primary objective, which is creating a positive environmental impact and stimulating change."
###
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 160,000 people in 67 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit www.cargill.com.
About Cargill Limited: Cargill Limited, which operates grain handling and crop input facilities across Ontario and the Prairies, works in partnership with producers to develop grain-marketing solutions. Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cargill Limited employs over 15,000 people across Canada and has business interests in meat, egg and oilseed processing, animal feed, salt, chocolate, natural gas, crop inputs, as well as grain handling, merchandising and milling. For more information, visit www.cargill.ca. Blue Source LLC offers businesses multiple approaches for reducing and managing greenhouse gas emissions. Blue Source provides access to capital to fund project development, works with companies on developing projects and oversees production of long-term Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). Blue Source Canada is a leader in Canada’s domestic offset opportunities with a supplier portfolio of more than ten million tonnes of emission offsets. Blue Source Canada’s technical division leads in technical expertise for protocol development and offset identification. For more information visit: www.bluesource.com