As an agro-industrial group directly responsible for the stewardship of land and the transformation of farmed commodities, Tereos is vigilant throughout the whole production process for sugar, starches and alcohols. From agricultural techniques, through supporting farmers in their management approaches, to the protection of consumers by food safety management, all affected parties are taken into consideration.
Energy
Tereos' sites strive to reduce their specific direct energy consumption (quantity of energy consumed per unit of raw material processed) and increase their percentage of renewable energies. Indeed, 40% of the direct energy consumed by Tereos comes from renewable sources. This renewable energy is generated primarily by sugar cane bagasse, while the biogas produced using the facilities' coproducts makes a further contribution. Specific consumption, expressed in gigajou¬les per ton of milled raw materials, decreased by around 6% from 2008-09 to 2009-10.
Water
More than 90% of the extracted water used is surface water. In Europe, Tereos' units recorded a 3% reduction in the specific levels of extracted water consumption from one year to the next. In Mozambique, as a result of the irrigation system being brought back into service in the sugar cane fields, extracted water consumption levels increased significantly. All of the water is drawn from the Zambezi. It is pumped at the surface before the river's mouth and extractions are controlled and kept below 0.3% of the river's minimum flow rate.
