Torani Urges Rinse Water Savings, Announces Internal Program

In celebration of World Water Day, March 22, Torani, the nearly 100-year-old flavor company, announced its Rinse Water Savings Project, which has saved more than 25 percent on daily water usage. Since implementing its Rinse Water Savings Project in September 2022, Torani has saved over 3.5 million gallons of water in its manufacturing processes and expects to save a total of six million gallons in the first 12 months.

As a Certified B-Corp, Torani believes business can and should be a force for good that directly impacts its people, their community, and the planet.

With an ever-expanding line of over 150 flavored syrups and sauces in which water is a key ingredient, Torani is dependent on a steady supply of clean water and is committed to scaling its water savings initiative to make an even bigger impact in 2023 and beyond.

“At Torani, we’re committed to creating impactful work and meaningful learning, growth, and development opportunities for every team member,” said Melanie Dulbecco, CEO. “When we put our people first and give them the chance to shape their work, they can address big problems and make a real impact.”

The company’s engineering team has extensively reviewed Torani’s water consumption processes over the past two years at its “Flavor Factory” headquarters in San Leandro, Calif., and identified several different ways to reduce water usage every day.

“Our team came together and set an ambitious water savings goal; this became our north star and guides all of our decisions,” said Kimberly Ear, reliability engineer. “Our Rinse Water Savings Project has proven to have a positive impact on the environment, and we’re excited that it will be a launchpad for even greater water savings in the future.”

Ear leads the Rinse Water Savings Project team, made up of 11 team members from across the company. This aspiration for implementing water savings was driven by a team of seasoned engineers who have built beverage plants in all corners of the world.

“As one of the few remaining food and beverage manufacturers in the Bay Area, we push ourselves to be even more creative and use technology to solve big challenges,” said Dulbecco. “This project is just another example of how our team members can create opportunities for themselves while impacting our community and planet.”

Water sustainability was top of mind when Torani relocated from South San Francisco to its expansive new Flavor Factory headquarters in early 2020. Since the company “soft launched” the Rinse Water Savings Project in 2022, Torani has successfully replenished over 20,000 gallons of water every day, amounting to an estimated 25 percent savings in daily water usage.

The Rinse Water Savings Project captures and reuses rinse water, utilizing it as the first rinse when cleaning tanks before the manufacturing team begins making a new syrup. In addition, Ear and the team worked to remove redundant rinses, including scaling back on double rinses while ensuring the results exceeded industry standards. Through these new rinse water processes, Torani expects to reduce the amount of water used by over six million gallons annually.

In the coming years, Torani plans to widen its sustainability efforts as it works toward becoming more energy efficient. By the end of 2023, Torani’s Flavor Factory will have a solar-powered roof that will power the entire plant’s operations. Torani will also reoptimize its lighting system and investigate additional water-saving initiatives for its wastewater.

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