Alliance Group is aiming for a 3300-tonne reduction in carbon emissions over the next three years, as part of an agreement with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
The agreement included a thermal and electricity use reduction of about 10GW hours a year by 2017, which equalled the annual energy use of about 960 households.
Meat and dairy plants were the biggest users of industrial heat and operators were targeted among new energy-efficiency initiatives announced by the Government last year aimed at improving business productivity, saving money and reducing carbon emissions.
The EECA has also worked with other meat processors Silver Fern Farms, Anzco and Affco on similar agreements.
Alliance Group, which has eight processing plants across the South Island and lower North Island, had ''significantly'' improved its energy use over the past decade, chief executive David Surveyor said.
The continued partnership with the EECA would help identify new energy-efficiency opportunities which would lower ongoing costs of production and make better use of resources, If it achieved its targets, the company could expect to achieve about $620,000 in energy savings annually, he said.
EECA chief executive Mike Underhill called for more energy-intensive industries, such as the primary industries, to set a higher standard for energy efficiency and the associated carbon reduction.
It was estimated New Zealand firms collectively could save $1.6billion a year through technology upgrades and process advances.
The EECA was working with some of the country's largest energy users to develop accords that helped companies achieve savings in a structured way.
