Kraft Foods cuts water used in worldwide manufacturing by 21%

Kraft Foods Inc., the world's second-largest foodmaker, said it cut water use worldwide by 21 percent, joining Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Whole Foods Market Inc. in efforts to minimize their impact on the environment.

The company needed 3 billion fewer gallons of water for manufacturing over the past three years, spokesman Richard Buino said in an Aug. 5 telephone interview. Plants are recycling water and fixing leaks, while water frozen in basement pools cools the Northfield headquarters.

Kraft set environmental goals in 2005, including the elimination of 150 million pounds of packaging by 2011, said Buino. Wal-Mart has decreased the amount of trash it sends to landfills and is investing in solar and wind energy. Whole Foods composts food waste and is installing solar panels in stores.

"Sustainability is a very important theme with our customers," Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld said in an Aug. 4 interview. The company said it met its water goal two years early. It plans to release details later today.

Some groups are calling for more oversight of water usage. While it's good that companies are using less water, the United Nations should take a bigger role in scrutinizing water- conservation claims by multinational companies, said Patti Lynn, campaigns director for Corporate Accountability International, a Boston-based advocacy group.

Kraft hired an executive to oversee environmental projects shortly after Rosenfeld, 56, took over as chief executive in 2006, Buino said.

A redesign of Kraft's Oscar Mayer Deli Creations wrappers will save 1.2 million pounds of packaging, Buino said. Another program with a recycling company has collected more than a million used Capri Sun drink pouches. He declined to estimate how much the company's environmental programs would cut costs.

Kraft declined 9 cents to $28.61 at 11:48 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, the shares had risen 6.9 percent this year.