Ecological Efficiency

Committed to our natural surroundings, we have developed processes and equipment which, in addition to improving production, is also designed for better environmental performance.

Thus, our company carries out actions that contribute to diminishing environmental impact, mainly in the following areas:

1. Reduction in drinking water consumption

In 1968, GRUMA developed a continuous cooking and rinsing process for the production of nixtamalized corn flour. Since then, water savings have been considerable in comparison to traditional nixtamalization processes in low-capacity mills. At the same time, we have improved our efficiency and production capacity by reducing losses of corn solids in the discharge of residual water.

Through the "GRUMA" technology used in producing corn flour we have achieved savings of 81% in the consumption of drinking water, sufficient to supply a community of 232,000 inhabitants for an entire year.

2. Reduction in gas consumption

Our Technology Division has developed a heat recovery system that allows for savings in gas consumption in our production ovens for tortillas and corn chips, leading in turn to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The "GRUMA" process makes for savings of between 40% and 55% as compared to the traditional cooking process. Given our large production volume, this represents savings equal to the energy consumption of 579,000 households, or approximately one million people, per year.

3. Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

We have developed our own technology to reduce emissions of harmful particles into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the conservation of a cleaner environment.

Through savings in gas consumption during the cornmeal cooking process, "GRUMA" technology has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 133 million kilos of carbon dioxide (CO2), equal to the CO2 produced by 51,000 new vehicles circulating at the speed of 80 kilometers per hour for two hours a day every day of the year.

We are currently monitoring our greenhouse gas emissions to ensure that all of our production units are meeting the standards in place in this area.

4. Reduction in discharges of solid waste

Our current processes have drastically reduced problems of domestic drainage and sewage, as discharges of residual water with solid waste have been cut by 88%, an amount equal to the annual sanitary waste of a community of over five million people.

5. Reduction in the discharge of wastewater

At GRUMA we are self-sufficient in the design and manufacture of processes and equipment for treating residual water, including systems for treating the residual water from the cooking process (nejayote).

Our Technology Division has developed two water treatment methods:

a) Reservoirs in agricultural areas with treated water for irrigation purposes (filtering, centrifugation, hydrolysis, anaerobic and aerobic fermentation, and clarification).

b) A "compact" process with treatment equipment such as anaerobic and aerobic fermentation tanks, clarifiers, and centrifugal separators to discharge waste water into the municipal drainage system.

This "GRUMA" technology has reduced the discharge of wastewater by 88%, preventing 6.18 million cubic meters of contaminated water from having entered the sewage system.

In order to reduce the discharge of wastewater even more, we continue to invest in research into even more efficient technologies. The levels of wastewater discharge in all our plants are currently within the regulations set by the countries in which they are operating.