Unless you live on the moon, you will certainly be familiar with the statement, “Reducing your carbon footprint”. So, what are we doing within group to reduce ours?
Saving Energy
At systems, and most recently at FGPL, electricity audits have been carried out and the results have been somewhat concerning. It appears that in the region of 30% of our electricity consumption is being consumed during “Non-production” hours, or, when the plant is closed and unmanned, e.g. weekends. In terms of £’s, this is significant and measures are being put in place to avoid the unnecessary expense.
By process of elimination, the source(s) for the demand of electricity during these times will be identified and curbed. It is fully recognised that some consumption is required when the plant is closed, e.g. compressors and standby units, automation (At FGPS), however, much of the demand can be drastically reduced, and WE ALL have a responsibility towards this.
We have all received communication recently surrounding the switching off of our PC’s, printers, air-con units, screens to name a few, and it is imperative that where possible, these are actually switched off at the sockets, not just placed on standby or switched off on the units themselves. The maintenance team are currently active in identifying what can be switched off during the above times, so please continue the support recently witnessed and assist in reducing our wastage so we can all benefit long term.
Remember, ask yourself, “Is it required…?”, “No”, then switch it off!
Recycling
Throughout the group, there are containers/bins in place to dispose of waste so we can continue the progress to obtain our ISO14001 (The international standard that specifies requirements for designing and implementing an “Environmental management system”, also referred to as EMS) accreditation. This demonstrates our commitment to the environment.
Upon visiting all 3 sites, it is clear that we all generate far too much rubbish/waste, none more so than at systems, and this needs immediate attention. Please use the containers as they should be.
This is simple to carry out and will be almost identical to what you have in place at home, or anywhere else you are likely to visit.
Finally, the ISO14001 is an accreditation that customers look for when selecting suppliers. It is to our advantage we obtain, and maintain our commitment to “Reducing our carbon footprint”.
Wayne Churchill, Group Procurement Manager, FGP Systems, RSC and FGP Lufton.
