Doing more with less - and succeeding

From utilities and yield to asset lifespan and value recovery: how circular-enabling systems turn resource pressure into operational advantage.

The new operating reality: resource constraints as a profitability and risk issue

The scale of the challenge is significant. The global food system accounts for roughly 30% of total energy use and about 26% of greenhouse gas emissions, with global water demand expected to rise 20–30% by 2050.¹ Rising utility costs, tighter regulations, and growing resource scarcity are no longer abstract trends; they are daily operational and strategic realities.

In response, leading processors are moving beyond one-off efficiency projects toward circular approaches to resource management—using energy, water, and raw materials more efficiently while recovering value from byproducts and waste streams. Circular-enabling equipment and lifecycle solutions are central to this shift, supporting efficiency, durability, and resource recovery across the full life of processing assets.

With an estimated 13.2% of food produced globally lost between harvest and retail—including during processing²—many processors are prioritizing systems that enable repairability, modular upgrades, and the recovery of water, heat, and byproducts.
This paper explores how circular-enabling systems—illustrated through JBT Marel technologies—can help processors boost efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and strengthen day-to-day operations without sacrificing throughput, yield, or profitability.

What circular processing means on the plant floor

Circularity in processing is not a single piece of equipment or project. It is a design principle applied to how plants perform efficiently across their entire lifecycle.

Together, these capabilities reduce reliance on finite resources, extend asset value, and turn waste streams into usable inputs—supporting both operational excellence and sustainability objectives.

Why circular-enabling equipment is moving from advantage to necessity

Rising energy costs and regulatory pressure
Processors face growing pressure to cut energy use as costs rise and regulations tighten. More than 60% of U.S. food manufacturers have already achieved measurable energy efficiency gains.₃ Heating and cooling dominate demand, with low temperature heat accounting for 97% of thermal energy use in the U.S. food and beverage sector.⁴

Circular-enabling equipment supports these challenges by:

• Improving thermal efficiency and reducing power demand
• Extending equipment life and deferring capital replacement
• Supporting customer compliance efforts with emerging energy and emissions standards

For leadership teams, this shift is about more than efficiency gains – it is about operating economics and reducing exposure to volatile energy markets while maintaining reliable high-performance systems. 

Water scarcity and cost risks
Nearly three-quarters of the world’s population live in countries that are water insecure or critically water insecure, and almost 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year.⁵ For processors, this results in:

• Higher water and wastewater costs
• Increased permitting and supply-chain risk
• Greater scrutiny from regulators, customers, and local communities 

Therefore, many processors are redesigning production lines to capture, treat, and reuse water. Equipment and systems that enable these efforts are becoming essential tools for maintaining production continuity and resilience while reducing environmental impact. 

Waste, yield loss, and emissions
Food loss and waste contribute 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with nearly one fifth of food wasted beyond the processing stage.^2,6 These inefficiencies:

• Increase disposal costs
• Reduce revenue through lost yield
• Add to the emissions footprint of both plants and supply chain 

Reducing losses during processing and recovering value from unavoidable byproducts are therefore critical to improving efficiency and margin performance. Circular-enabling solutions address this gap by improving yield, enabling byproduct separation, and supporting secondary product utilization.

Circular-enabled processing in action: what it delivers in real operations

Reducing freshwater dependence without compromising food safety 
Protein processing is among the most water-intensive segments of the food industry. Traditional approaches rely heavily on single-use potable water to meet hygiene and food safety requirements. 

JBT Marel’s Prime Water Reuse System, in certain poultry processing installations, enables high levels of water reuse and meaningful reductions in overall plant water reuse.⁷ Depending on the facility size and product mix, this can equate to savings of up to 1.5 million gallons of water per week.⁷ Beyond potable water reduction, the system:

• Enables secondary use of processing chemicals within collected water streams
• Supports additional contaminant reduction and process optimization
• Lowers the amount of chemical treatment required before discharge

When combined with advanced technologies from JBT Marel Water Treatment - including filtration, dissolved air flotation, biological treatment, and tertiary purification – processors can move closer to closed-loop water systems that reduce costs, support compliance, and further lower environmental impact.⁸

For operations teams, this means more stable water availability and simplified daily management. For leadership, it supports cost control, risk reduction, and progress against water-related goals and commitments.

Lowering energy demand through circular thermal processing
Thermal processing is one of the largest energy consumers in food and beverage plants. Upgrading or rethinking thermal systems is therefore one of the most impactful levers available.⁹

JBT Marel applies circular principles by rebuilding used rotary shells—many of which are leased units—into fully refurbished rotary pressure sterilizer lines. Through inspection, reconditioning, and modernization, existing equipment is repurposed to meet current operating standards and delivered with a warranty. This approach:

• Extends equipment life, reducing the material and energy required for new builds
• Provides customers with reliable, high performance systems 

Refurbished systems combine proven technology with updated controls and components, allowing capability and efficiency while reducing both environmental impact and capital outlay.

Turning by-products into value
In protein processing, yield optimization and byproduct quality are tightly linked. JBT Marel’s whitefish fillet processing system combines Curio filleting equipment with FleXicut X-ray guidance and precision waterjet cutting to maximize edible yield. The system automatically segregates trim and frames into defined byproduct streams, enabling improved recovery and utilization of secondary products such as value-added seafood ingredients.¹⁰

JBT Marel’s ProTEN™ meat harvesting systems recover high-quality meat from flesh-bearing bones after deboning, achieving high recovery rates and industrial-scale throughput in certain operating conditions, while producing multiple quality grades suitable for fresh and cooked products.¹¹ Together, these solutions enable processors to:

• Convert byproducts into revenue-generating products
• Increase output from the same raw materials inputs
• Extend the resource value chain within existing operations

The result is more product, improved margins, and stronger circular outcomes across the plant.

Extending asset life through retrofits and refurbishment
Circularity is not limited to new equipment investments. The greatest gains often come from how effectively existing assets are maintained and optimized over time.

JBT Marel supports customers through a broad portfolio of lifecycle services—including preventive maintenance, digital monitoring, spare parts, and performance optimization—designed to maximize uptime and efficiency. These services:

• Improve uptime and operational stability
• Enhance performance through continuous optimization
• Extend asset life while reducing overall cost and environmental impact

For operations teams, this enables incremental improvements during planned downtime. For leadership, it provides a structured, service-led path to continuous improvement without disruptive, large-scale replacements.

Conclusion: building a more resilient food system

Circular-enabling equipment and lifecycle solutions are reshaping what “efficient” and “high-performing” mean in food and beverage processing. When embedded into plant design and operational strategy, they improve uptime, protect yield and unlock value from byproducts, reduce dependance on constrained resources, and extend asset life and stabilize capital requirements.

As pressures around utilities, compliance, and margin performance intensify, processors that adopt circular approaches move from reactive problem-solving to proactive resilience.

Over the long term, reduced utility demand, lower disposal costs, deferred capital expenditures, and improved yield create a stronger cost base and more resilient operations Circular processing is no longer simply a sustainability initiative - it is becoming a defining characteristic of high-performing, competitive food and beverage manufacturers.

References and Sources

¹ Corigliano, O., Morrone, P., & Algieri, A. (2025). Navigating the challenges of sustainability in the food processing chain: Insights into energy interventions to reduce footprint. Energies, 18(2), 296. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18020296
² United Nations. (2026). Food Loss and Waste Reduction. https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day
³ Food Industry Executive Staff. (2025, July 23). Energy efficiency: The sustainability sweet spot for food manufacturers. Food Industry Executive. https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2025/07/energy-efficiency-the-sustainability-sweet-spot-for-food-manufacturers/
⁴ Renewable Thermal Collaborative. (2023). Food & beverage sector. https://www.renewablethermal.org/food-and-bev/
⁵ United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. (2026). Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era. https://www.agenda-2030.fr/IMG/pdf/global_water_bankruptcy_report__2026_.pdf
⁶ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2024, June 17). Food Loss and Food Waste Database. https://www.fao.org/policy-support/policy-themes/food-loss-and-food-waste/-Food-Loss-and-Food-Waste-Database/en
⁷ JBT Corporation. (2023, April 4). Revolutionizing water conservation with JBT’s Prime Water Reuse System. The JBT Protein Blog. https://proteinblog.jbtc.com/2023/04/04/revolutionizing-water-conservation-with-jbts-prime-water-reuse-system/
⁸ JBT Marel. (n.d.). Wastewater treatment solutions. Retrieved February 26, 2026
⁹ U.S. Department of Energy. (2025). Food and beverage products: Energy intensive industries. https://www.energy.gov/cmei/ito/food-and-beverage-products
¹⁰ JBT Marel. FleXicut Jet: Automatic trimming and pinbone removal system. JBT Marel, n.d. 
¹¹ JBT Marel. ProTEN meat harvesting system. JBT Marel

This content is provided for general informational purposes only. All examples and performance figures are illustrative and based on specific customer implementations, system configurations, and operating assumptions. Actual results may vary depending on facility design, operating practices, regulatory environment, and product mix. Nothing herein should be construed as a guarantee of performance or regulatory compliance.