A KEIGHLEY company is investing £200,000 in new technology to cut carbon emissions.

Food packaging specialist PFF Group says an installation programme at its Royd Ings Avenue base will boost efficiency and reduce energy costs – cutting the firm's carbon footprint by five per cent.

Using a transformer, the system – supplied by Sheffield-based smart energy company Powerstar – enables electricity to be transferred from one circuit to another at changing voltage levels, improving safety and efficiency.

PFF general manager, Lee Brydon, says: "As a producer of sustainable packaging, we place great importance on using resources efficiently – and this latest investment demonstrates that we take our carbon reduction commitments very seriously.

"Transformers become less efficient as they age. Upgrading our existing equipment will increase power resilience and enable greater energy efficiency, thereby lowering our carbon footprint.

"Plastics continue to have a vital role to play in food production and our objective is to produce packaging that delivers the most sustainable solution when accounting for whole-life costs – from production to transportation emissions, food waste and 'recyclability'.

"Carbon footprinting offers the most accurate assessment of the way our products impact on our planet. Therefore, reducing our carbon footprint is the biggest thing we can do to protect the environment."

He says sustainability is a core value for the group, which is a member of two global environmental initiatives – NEXTLOOPP, which aims to produce the first commercially-available high-quality food grade polypropylene, and Operation Clean Sweep, which seeks to ensure plastic doesn't end-up in waterways.

Alastair Morris, chief commercial officer at Powerstar, welcomed the link-up with PFF.

He said: "Upgrading an ageing transformer fleet offers enhanced power resilience, lower costs and greater energy efficiency, as well as an effective route to reducing carbon emissions – and ultimately, to achieving net zero. We are delighted to help PFF Group on that journey."

PFF, established in 1993, is one of the UK’s largest independent food packaging manufacturers. Customers include supermarkets, multi-national food manufacturers and fresh produce companies.

It also recently launched a health division and has been producing millions of disposable polythene aprons – at a site in Washington, Tyne and Wear – for use by frontline NHS and social care workers.

Last year the group – which employs more than 250 people – continued its growth with the acquisition of Sirap UK, a producer and supplier of thermoformed rigid plastic food packaging.