Nestlé UK has significantly improved the efficiency of its coffee production by transforming a by‑product of Nescafé manufacturing into a clean source of energy, helping to reduce waste and lower operating costs at its factory.
Since 2015, Nestlé UK has recycled coffee beans during coffee production – and using them as a biomass fuel to help generate steam at its Tutbury site. Without this process, the used coffee beans would need to be disposed of as waste.
Once the coffee beans have been used the waste is pressed to remove moisture. It is then sent to a biomass boiler to create steam used in the coffee manufacturing process. The initiative forms part of Nestlé UK’s broader commitment to supporting Nestlé’s road to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050 and minimising waste across its operations.
In 2024, the factory’s biomass boiler generated 37% of the steam required at the Tutbury site. Following improvements to the process, this increased to 47% in 2025, enabling the factory to use 97.7% of its used coffee beans as fuel.
As a result, the volume of unused coffee waste sent off site fell dramatically – a 94% reduction since 2024, supporting a 12.9% reduction in related greenhouse gas emissions between 2024 and 2025.
The improvements have delivered clear environmental and financial benefits by reducing both waste disposal costs and the volume of gas required for conventional boilers.
The success of the initiative has prompted Nestlé UK to explore whether other by products, such as cocoa husks from other Nestlé factories, could be used to further increase renewable steam generation in the future.
Mike Parr, Industrial Services Manager at Nestlé Tutbury, said: “Industrial Services can be a tough role in a factory environment; we’re not directly making the great Nestlé products people see on shelves, our job is to support the process in the most efficient and environmentally responsible way possible.
"At a site the size of Tutbury, even a small improvement can make a huge difference in energy use, waste reduction and emissions. That’s what makes projects like this so rewarding. We’ve still got a lot more opportunities ahead of us, but the progress we’ve made shows what can happen when the whole factory gets behind a common goal.
"Nestlé colleagues on site have really embraced these projects, and celebrating the success we’ve achieved in 2025 only motivates teams even more to keep pushing for further improvements.”
Yutika Patel, Tutbury Factory Engineering Manager, said: “This project shows how we can extract more value from materials that would otherwise go to waste. By improving efficiency and investing in innovative energy solutions, we’re reducing emissions, cutting waste and making our operations more resilient.”
