SUSTAINABLE WATER AND ENERGY USAGE
understanding where water enters a site, how it moves through production and where it can be reduced without affecting hygiene, quality or output.
Recycling water inside the factory Hershey is taking a similarly integrated approach, but its 2026 sustainability strategy provides more detail on how water fits within wider operational efficiency. In its April 2026 strategy update,
the company says it is making targeted investments in water recycling systems at its facilities, alongside energy-efficiency projects and the expansion of renewable electricity. The company describes efficient operations as a means of reducing waste and costs while preparing the business for “energy market volatility, water scarcity, carbon pricing, and strained waste systems.” That framing is particularly relevant
to food and confectionery production. Rather than treating water scarcity as an external environmental issue, Hershey is positioning it as an operational risk that needs to be managed alongside energy and resource costs. Its 2026 strategy also reports that
renewable energy sources accounted for 85% of the company’s energy use in 2025, while its Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction had reached 43% against its target of 50% by 2030. The company is also addressing water
further upstream. Hershey says it has expanded regenerative agriculture initiatives across cocoa, dairy and sugar supply chains, while its work in Texas is intended to protect water resources supporting peanut production. That combination of factory-level
water recycling and agricultural water stewardship reflects the reality that a
confectionery company’s water exposure does not begin when ingredients arrive at the factory. It begins much earlier, in the landscapes and farming systems on which those ingredients depend.
Taking water resilience back to the farm For ingredient suppliers, the supply- chain dimension becomes even more pronounced. In September 2026, Cargill announced the expansion of its Cargill Currents water initiative into Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica and Türkiye,
alongside expanded programmes in Brazil, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and North America. The programme combines water access, watershed restoration and more efficient agricultural water use. The development is particularly
Cargill: Through Cargill Currents, landowners in Texas received support to protect and restore playas. These shallow wetlands play a vital role in replenishing groundwater and maintaining watershed health.
relevant to confectionery because the programme includes activity in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, two of the world’s most important cocoa-growing countries. Cargill says its expanded work in the two countries will support water, sanitation and community water management across 12 cocoa-growing communities, reaching approximately 55,000 people. Elsewhere, the company’s new programme in Türkiye is expected to conserve an estimated 374 million litres of water annually by training 125 farmers around Lake znik in precision irrigation and regenerative practices across 500 hectares. “Water is essential to people and
agriculture, which makes it essential to our business,” says Pete Dahm, senior director, sustainability and global water lead at Cargill. For confectionery manufacturers, this
illustrates an increasingly important distinction between water efficiency and water security. A factory can reduce
44 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2026
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