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Water is vital to our Ingredients businesses, in particular AB Mauri which relies on water as the medium in which yeast cells grow and reproduce.
A wastewater treatment plant at SPI Pharma's manufacturing site in Lewes, Delaware, United States
Our Ingredients businesses aim to minimise their impact on local water resources, communities and biodiversity by working to use water more efficiently and return it safely to the environment after use.
In 2026, Ingredients businesses abstracted 15.8 million m3, a 2% increase compared to 2025, driven by higher production volumes and a more water-intensive product mix. Efficiency improvement initiatives, including increasing the reuse of water by 9% compared to 2025, continued during the year across businesses, helping to mitigate the impact of increased production activity. Of the water abstracted, 73% is attributed to AB Mauri which continues to reduce its need for water through targeted water management initiatives. Across the Ingredients segment, 3% of water was reused, compared with 2% in 2025.
The amount of waste water generated across the Ingredients businesses remained the same as in 2025. The Ingredients businesses have ongoing projects to manage effluent quality and quantity to meet permitted requirements.
AB Mauri aims to reduce waste by continuously improving the efficiency of its operations and by ensuring the production of quality co-products that convert waste into useable products.
In several locations, by-products from bakery ingredient and yeast manufacturing are collected and sold for further use, creating value from materials that might otherwise become waste. A dedicated co-products technology team evaluates opportunities to increase the use of these materials, supported by a monthly steering group chaired by the AB Mauri Chief Executive. One example is vinasse, a by-product of yeast production, which is used in fertilisers and high-value animal feed. Similarly, soya husks from the Royston site in the UK are sent for processing into animal feed, helping the site maintain zero waste to landfill.
Several AB Mauri businesses also repurpose waste as an ingredient in organic fertiliser or send it for composting, reducing reliance on nitrogen-based fertilisers that are carbon intensive to produce.
In addition, in six manufacturing sites, biogas captured from yeast wastewater treatment is reused on-site, replacing natural gas for heat and electricity generation.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | 19 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 |
ABFI businesses continue to identify opportunities to improve water management and increase efficiency, including through water recirculation initiatives. For example, at ABITEC’s Janesville site in the US, a distributed control system was installed to reduce the water used in cooling chemical reactors. Following the system optimisation, which began in January 2023, water consumption decreased from a five-year average of around 179 litres per kilogram of product to around 73 litres per kilogram over the subsequent three years, resulting in water savings of 1.26 million m³. At Ohly’s Boyceville site in the US, a wastewater pH treatment project reduced pH variability by 83% in calendar year 2025, supporting more stable and efficient wastewater management.
Waste water is treated before discharge and ABFI businesses monitor various wastewater parameters across their operations. This regular monitoring is essential to help ensure compliance with environmental regulations and to maintain high operational standards.
