One of Dole Philippines Inc.’s biggest pineapple production and canning operations will start to get power from the fruit’s waste in an effort to cut costs and boost sustainability.

The unit of Tokyo-based Itochu Corp. announced Thursday that it’s partnered with Surallah Biogas Venture Corp. to convert leftovers from pineapples into biogas, which will then be used to produce electricity, starting from 2020. The process is expected to provide more than 20 percent of the electricity for its operations in the Philippines’ Mindanao region, according to an Itochu spokesman.

Itochu is the latest company to push producing gas from waste. France’s Engie SA and partners said in November that they will invest 800 million euros ($910 million) over the next five years to produce more biogas.

“The effort is an extremely significant way to increase sustainability,” Itochu said in the statement. “The soaring power costs on the Mindanao islands was also one of the reasons for the decision.”

Article by Stephen Stapczynski, Bloomberg | Quint

Source: www.bloombergquint.com