Social Responsibility - Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Receives the LEED Platinum Certification

Lee Kum Kee’s Xinhui Production Base receives the LEED Platinum Certification

With a history of 132 years, sauce company Lee Kum Kee has always been a pioneer in sustainable development. Its production base in Xinhui, Jiangmen, Guangdong province has recently received the prestigious LEED Platinum certification. Lee Kum Kee is the first company in the global fermented food industry to have received this certification.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is a globally recognised green building rating system with four rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Lee Kum Kee’s green soy sauce fermentation project received the LEED-NC V4.0 Platinum certification, which is the highest level in the rating system.

Promote Sustainable Development and Create a Green Future

LEED certification is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. Lee Kum Kee's Xinhui Production Base has a comprehensive energy efficiency and environmental protection strategy, and is equipped with a solar photovoltaic power generation system, geothermal heat pump system, wetland park and wastewater treatment facilities. In particular, the solar photovoltaic power generation system and geothermal heat pump system earned full marks in the energy-saving aspect of LEED.

The solar photovoltaic power generation system is installed on the rooftop of the soy sauce plant. Solar energy is directly converted to electricity by the semiconductor interface, thereby greatly reducing the consumption of electricity. The geothermal heat pump system provides both hot and cold water for soy sauce fermentation via the heat exchangers and condensers; it utilizes the thermostatic geothermal energy underground, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of electricity and water. The wetland park, with an area of 16,000 square metres will be capable of treating 4,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day through natural ecosystems after completion. Besides, the grey water recycling system minimizes water consumption with its high water efficient design to reuse water as much as possible.

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Solar photovoltaic power generation system (1), geothermal heat pump system (2), wetland park (3) at Lee Kum Kee’s Xinhui production base

These facilities enable the green soy sauce fermentation project of Lee Kum Kee to achieve remarkable performance in various aspects of green building technologies such as sustainable development, energy and water conservation, and environmental protection. Analysis through quantitative simulation shows that the project saves 55% more water and 50% more energy than general projects, and renewable energy constitutes 6% of its total energy consumption. The geothermal heat pump system and solar photovoltaic power generation system are two important energy-saving facilities that earned full marks in the energy-saving aspect of LEED.

The facilities mentioned above have earned Lee Kum Kee LEED Platinum Certification. What is also noteworthy is Lee Kum Kee staff’s commitment to green manufacturing. The 2,800 staff at the Xinhui production base All uphold the corporate core value of “Si Li Ji Ren” (Considering Others’ Interests). Lee Kum Kee encourages its staff to adopt the "3Rs strategy” (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) to reduce waste through measures such as promoting cycling in the plant areas, using clean energy for staff shuttle buses, encouraging the use of recyclable paper and undertaking to reduce the weight of the glass bottles of products.

Lee Kum Kee will continue to adhere to the LEED standard when developing new projects, minimize the use of natural resources, and further increase the use of low-carbon energy in an effort to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development.

“Si Li Ji Ren” and Promote Green Industrial Practices

 The production base in Xinhui is the largest of Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group’s production bases worldwide, with an area of 1.33 million square metres. As a leading sauce company, Lee Kum Kee has been actively promoting green industrial practices and advocating the construction of a green manufacturing system. Our efforts have earned us a string of recognitions. In 2018, the Xinhui production base was accredited as “National Green Factory” by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of the People’s Republic of China, as it was the first enterprise in Jiangmen to receive the honor. The LEED Platinum certification is another recognition by an internationally renowned organisation of Lee Kum Kee’s achievements in energy conservation, environmental protection and waste reduction.