Sustainable cheese production: Part of a climate-neutral cheese chain

Ambitious goals

Aware of the impact of cheese production on the climate, CONO Kaasmakers has taken the bold step of transforming their entire cheese chain to be climate-neutral by 2030. To achieve this climate-neutral goal, CONO critically examines its own role in the chain, aiming to make it as small as possible. The company has identified several key areas within the cheese chain: The farm, milk transport, cheesemaking, cheese maturation, packaging, and cheese transport.

The cooperative has already implemented some changes. One of these was the direct discharge of wastewater. The regional water authority in the Netherlands, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier (HHNK), receives and treats the water from CONO directly, meaning no on-site treatment plant is required. Additionally, the wastewater contains substances that HHNK can make good use of. As Tijs says: "Smart use of residual streams is a crucial part of our sustainability strategy. We look beyond our own walls for this as well."

Another adjustment is aimed at reducing energy consumption by 2% each year. "We’re not waiting for the big switch. We’ve already found a number of smart solutions that have reduced energy consumption over the past few years", he explains.

“The joint efforts resulted in several scenarios and a final report with a clear overview of the current situation, a concept for electrifying the current steam boilers, and a technical solution with heat pumps and heat storage,” Roberto explains. “Energy savings, expected costs, and the impact on the ecological footprint are clearly presented in a detailed table, which served as the basis for deciding on the next steps.”

“The main goal of the project is to produce climate-neutral cheese, achieving a 75% CO2 reduction by 2030 and electrifying the production process,” Tijs says. Choosing the right technologies, such as using a hot water system or a steam system, is essential. The current system, built ten years ago, works excellently and delivers quality, making it a tough decision to completely change it now.

For CONO, this is the first project of this scale in ten years. “Initially, we just wanted information about replacing the steam boiler, but the project evolved,” Tijs explains. “NIRAS adapts to these changes, and we continually review the frameworks together.”

According to current plans, two new heat pump installations and a heat buffer will replace the traditional steam network with an efficient 90-degree water network. This requires modifications to some heat and cold generators and consumers within the production process. Despite higher initial project costs, this solution leads to lower energy costs and significant energy savings, resulting in a much better return on investment (ROI).

Data analysis

Making available information transparent and dealing with missing specific data made the analysis process challenging. Estimating the ROI was therefore difficult. Tijs explains why this is still crucial: “Since we are a cooperative, there are many stakeholders. Plus, I want our employees to stand behind the plans. It's in our DNA to do the right thing for people and nature, but it’s nice for everyone to know what an investment will bring.”

To make good estimates on emissions and energy savings, NIRAS’s team members in the Netherlands drew on experiences from international colleagues in Denmark, and intensive consultations were held. By applying a proven calculation method to the collected measurements, assumptions became more stable. The project team could better estimate the missing data and calculate a more accurate ROI, which was essential for the reliability of the research report.

“It’s getting harder to clarify the financial picture because trends in numbers change so quickly,” Roberto says, and Tijs adds: “Luckily, the environmental savings have become clearer within the project, and we can see the value of the investment. We don’t want to make choices randomly. Together with NIRAS, we take many scenarios into consideration and explore multiple technical solutions. We want to involve all stakeholders in this optimization with certainty.”

Roberto elaborates: “Having an annual overview of the users and generators at the production site was incredibly valuable. By also taking external factors into account, such as outside temperatures, calculations became increasingly accurate.”

“Milk processing and the production of various dairy products used to be quite static. You would start a production day, clean up, and repeat this process several times a week. Your biggest concern was the availability of raw milk. We are now shifting to a different mindset. We look at whether different elements of that production process are optimal to use as little energy as possible per production run,” says Tijs. “Wouldn’t it be great if we all switched to real-time information to manage this as efficiently as possible?”

NIRAS will remain closely involved and focus on pre-engineering in the near future. In doing so, procurement, realisation, commissioning, and project startup are already being considered to ensure these later phases run smoothly. Additionally, NIRAS will provide support in applying for permits and complying with regulations.

“NIRAS feels like a local company but has the strength of an entire organisation behind it,” Tijs explains. Roberto adds: “It’s great to work with a client like CONO. You can tell that we, as organisations, share the same values, focusing on sustainability and responsible entrepreneurship for future generations.” Tijs agrees. Together, CONO and NIRAS are committed to a future where high-quality cheese goes hand in hand with a climate-neutral approach.