Tuesday, July 11, 2023
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AkzoNobel aims to achieve its de-carbonisation target of 50% by the year 2030. The environmentally responsible project however, follows certain plans for the implementation of the sustainable strategies. Taking environment responsibility to the next level, now under the leadership of Christian Eschauzier, Global Director of Environment, and Eline Lenselink, Global Category Manager Manufacturing Services the plan has been initiated in which they are responsible for purchasing the energy. Christian and Eline jointly focused on two main pillars as one plan to increase the renewable electricity purchase to 100% and the other is working hard to reduce the relative energy consumption by 30% by the year 2030.
The bulk of its energy consumption comes from the manufacturing sites so the company tries to be attentive in this case. “What we’ve seen is that the number one easy and cost-effective solution is shutting down equipment when not in use – just like at home, turn off the light.”- says Christian.
The sites even try to understand the power bill and monitors the usage in particular areas to detect the ways to reduce consumption. They try to identify what can be turned off or turned down for the purpose of conservation. In AkzoNobel this is a collective effort that makes use of a strong support system to execute the plan.
Sustainable investments-
• LED lighting in Montataire, France – The biggest warehouse at the site generated an annual energy consumption of 1.4 GWh. The wise decision of switching to LEDs has now left an effect. The energy consumption has now reduced ten times, thereby saving €380,000 a year.
• Upgraded air compressors in Tianjin, China – The changes to the optimized air compressor network includes leak detectors, reduced air pressure, serviced equipment and use of alternate energy sources. All these not only fulfils the company’s target but also saves €27,500 per year.
• Installation of heat pumps in Angered, Sweden- Installation of upgraded heating system at the sites reduced the total site energy consumption by 20%. It also eliminated the use of oil for heating, enabling the digital control and monitoring.
Eline also plans the procurement of both electricity and natural gas- for all countries where AkzoNobel operates. She plans everything keeping in mind the decarbonization strategy. “Preferably we have solar panels on site and we produce our own electricity,” explains Eline. She also reports that, “The next best option is to buy green electricity from producers such as a windmill park on the sea or a nearby solar park, which is often a challenge due to limited availability in the current market. For the rest of the energy volume, we need to obtain renewable electricity certificates to achieve 100% of electricity coming from renewable sources.”
Tags: AkzoNobel, coating, wood, wood and panel, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking and processing, woodworking industry, woodworking UK
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