The new sugar beet wash house is up and running after a colossal site project. The result: improved competitiveness and energy efficiency.
"Connantre is a major agro-industrial complex," said Olivier Leducq, Director of Tereos Sucre Europe, at the inauguration on Wednesday 17 November. "Already a leading sugar plant in Europe, the site is further increasing its production capacity thanks to this new wash house with exceptional performance. Connantre is a pilot site for Tereos; the Group has invested heavily in it over the past ten years to accelerate the modernisation of processes and its energy transition. Digitisation, decarbonisation and energy optimisation are at the heart of this investment plan."  
As far as Connantre's overall performance is concerned, the old wash house represented a weak point, given its age. Commissioned for its first harvest in October 1975, with a washing capacity of 14,000 tons of sugar beet per day, the equipment has been expanded over the years to 23,000 tons.   
 
The wash house, essential equipment of a sugar plant  
In a sugar plant, the wash house is the entry point of the sugar beets in the sugar extraction process. The quality of the washing depends to a large extent on the sugar beet processing capacity. More generally, the performance of the wash house has a direct impact on the three main value drivers:  

 
Launched in 2018 as part of Tereos' industrial performance plan, the installation project required meticulous planning management so that the new equipment would be operational when the 2021-2022 harvest starts. 100% made in France, the 32-metre long wash house was designed by the company Maguin and transported by road to be installed in the sugar plant.  
"We managed to meet this challenge in less than eight months, during a health crisis which did not make things any easier. Congratulations to the teams and our partners for this remarkable collaboration!" concludes Olivier Leducq.  

3 questions to Xavier Huchet, Group CSR Manager, on the assessment of our social responsibility and sustainability.
Since 2016, Tereos has been assessed by EcoVadis, an independent CSR rating organization. This platform audits around 60,000 companies that volunteer to be rated on 4 criteria each year: environment, labour & human rights, ethics and responsible purchasing. 

 
How can we interpret these results? 

Xavier Huchet: The overall picture is positive. Over the last five years, we have gained nearly 20 ranking points, which reflects the implementation of our CSR strategy in our plants. It also reflects the successful deployment of a circular economy approach across our business, where we recover 99% of the raw materials we process. This commitment enables us to meet a twofold challenge: to limit waste and to offer as many opportunities as possible to our cooperative farmers. 
The second major focus is to reduce the use of natural resources and our carbon footprint. This involves strategic investments in more energy-efficient equipment. Examples include: a gas-fired boiler in Escaudœuvres to replace the old coal-fired one, and a pre-dryer in Connantre to reduce the energy consumption of dehydration units by 30 to 40%. 
 
The EcoVadis rating system is based on the voluntary participation of companies; why participate in the first place? 
Xavier Huchet: It is important that the tangible results we achieve are recognized by an independent and international organization such as EcoVadis. This enhances our credibility and allows us to compare our performance with that of other companies using a recognized benchmark. We can therefore assess our position in relation to the top 4% of companies rated by the platform, and in relation to the top 2% of companies in our sector. The "Gold" rating awarded to us for the third consecutive year shows that our CSR policy is firmly anchored at the heart of the Group's strategy. Tereos teams can be proud of this continued progress! 


 
How does this rating impact the Group's activities? 

Xavier Huchet: First and foremost internally, as part of a continuous improvement process to identify areas of improvement for the coming years and broaden our CSR roadmap. 
Second, the EcoVadis rating allows us to meet the expectations of our external stakeholders. For example, our clients pay close attention to our production methods and our approach regarding the environment. They consider such an assessment to be a prerequisite. In addition, financial institutions now include social responsibility and sustainability considerations as criteria for obtaining green loans. 
Last but not least, it also provides an opportunity to be proactive by adopting a comprehensive approach to transparency about the impact of our activities, as advocated by the European Green Deal and the Green Taxonomy. 
 

Tereos continues its #GoodFood #NoWaste campaign. The goal: to raise awareness and demonstrate what actions the Group is taking in the fight against food waste.
#GoodFood #NoWaste is an internal awareness campaign designed to share messages and unite actions on the ground, in conjunction with two key events: the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (September 29) and World Food Day (October 16). 
In our agro-industry, limiting food loss and waste is directly linked to the cooperative mindset, which aims to highlight the value of plant resources. This requires finding as many applications as possible for agricultural raw materials, economically managing resources (water, energy, etc.) and reusing any surplus materials.  
To be clear, we need to identify additional applications for the plant-based raw materials we process and, in the case of finished food products, we need to donate surplus amounts to people living in food insecurity. If the products are not suitable for human consumption, they could be used for animal feed, energy production, or health and hygiene products. See the infographics for more details. 
 

In 2021, "Protéines France," a consortium of companies supporting development in this sector, launched the project ProteiNEW. As an active member of the consortium, Tereos is involved with this initiative, aiming to strengthen France's independence when it comes to protein. Anne Wagner, the Group's R&D Director and the first President of "Protéines France," explains the challenges of the project.
When we talk about plant proteins, we often hear the term "new resources." What does that mean? 

Anne Wagner: First of all, there are new plant resources, in particular protein crops, which can be consumed as they are or after refining and concentrating the proteins. But that's not all: new and very promising technologies are emerging thanks to insects, microalgae, yeast, fungi, and from bacteria from the fermentation of sugars. And we're not talking science fiction! These new resources are extremely compelling from a nutritional point of view. 
Thus, these sectors are on the up, and that's why we founded "Protéines France" in 2017 and launched ProteiNEW this year: to accelerate the development of these new sectors, which ensure that this agricultural resource is both protected and exploited to its full potential on a regional scale. 
 
What does this project involve? 

Anne Wagner: The ProteiNEW project is structured around four key pillars: identifying regional resources and benchmarks, supporting French start-ups, removing regulatory barriers and, last but not least, circulating findings more globally. The aim of ProteiNEW is to help develop a strong, integrated sector, putting France at the helm when it comes to proteins and new resources. Tereos is a co-leader of the second pillar with the start-up Algama, and our teams of course contribute and get involved in the other pillars. 
 
Outside of France, is the use of protein in food a global trend?  
Anne Wagner: This is a global trend that is addressing issues around food availability for a growing global population. However, in Western Europe in particular, there is no problem with the availability or quality of proteins, but consumers want to vary their protein sources for societal and environmental reasons. In France, we are lagging behind other countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, where plant proteins are already an important part of their diets. This new protein sector is thus a way to accelerate our entry into a diversified, globally sustainable food model and help our agriculture and technological innovations reach their full potential. 
 

Through a strategic supply agreement for Stevia extracts, Tereos offers comprehensive solutions that live up to consumer expectations.
Ever-changing consumer expectations 
For several years, the "good for me, good for the planet" trend has had a significant impact on purchasing decisions. While public health policies encourage the consumption of products with improved nutrition, consumers are noticeably more wary of the amount of sugar they consume.

 
With that in mind, stevia is the ideal ingredient! Proof of this is the fact that the number of product launches containing stevia extracts has increased by more than 16% per year between 2016 and 2020 (source: Innova Market Insights). As a sweetener, it meets expectations in terms of nutrition by allowing the sugar and calorie content of finished products to be reduced, and this trend is reflected in labeling systems such as the "Nutri-Score." This rating scale translate the nutritional value of a product, going from A (very healthy) to E (rather unhealthy). 
 


A healthy reformulation solution for our customers 
As a leading company in sweeteners, Tereos has offered its customers stevia extracts for over 10 years. In July 2021, the Group consolidated this ingredient's position in its product range by announcing the signing of a strategic supply agreement with the Swiss firm Firmenich, the world leader in the fragrance and flavor business.
The combination of Tereos solutions and Firmenich's range of stevia extracts will lead to innovative and appealing recipes for our customers. And with improved nutritional profiles, these products will take advantage of market opportunities in line with consumer expectations.