Energy efficiency and cost reduction
One of the areas that will reduce costs, reduce
Small but meaningful steps
One of the most effective solutions on the part of large industrial enterprises is a constant reduction in the consumption of natural resources, primarily water, gas and electricity.
Companies are replicating best practices inswitching to renewable energy sources and saving natural resources. For the efficient use of resources, enterprises conduct an audit of the systems that support their activities: water supply, boiler and electrical equipment. With its help, it is possible to increase the energy efficiency of enterprises and minimize the impact on the environment.
Among the obvious actions that increaseefficiency of resource consumption: control of closing doors and windows to maintain the temperature of the premises, installation of light sensors, which save energy if there is no one in the room. The production also looks for pipe leaks and reuses the water. The heat of the steam also does not disappear anywhere - it is used to heat other rooms.
Operational control of water consumption:
- Regular audits of the plumbing system, finding leaks, broken or unnecessary open valves and fixing them.
- Rationing of water consumption during washing and cleaning.
- Replacing hose use with other cleaning methods.
Operational control of gas consumption:
- Control of closed doors, windows and other openings, as well as "cold bridges".
- Optimization of heating temperatures in rooms without permanent staff stay.
- Thermal imaging monitoring of the serviceability of steam traps.
- Monitoring the efficiency of boiler equipment.
Operational control of electricity consumption:
- Compressed air system audit - leak detection and elimination.
- Audit of the lighting system - turning off the lighting during daylight hours.
- Thermal imaging control of electrical equipment.
Other measures:
- Thermal insulation of hot surfaces.
- Use of secondary boiling steam for heating or domestic hot water supply.
- Steam boiler blowdowns - automation and use of blowdown heat.
- Automation of air heating systems - regulation of the heating agent supply.
- Ceiling fans - mixing the upper and lower air layers.
- Using the cold of borehole water - precooling the circuit of refrigerating machines with fresh water from wells.
- Intelligent energy efficient lighting - the use of LED lamps, dimming, installation of light sensors, presence sensors.
- Water-saving plumbing - presence control, installation of water-saving shower heads, aerators.
It may seem that these measures are simple and,perhaps insignificant, but their performance indicators are quite serious. At the company's Russian factories for the production of food and beverages, with this approach, which they themselves called ReCon, over 10 years, electricity consumption has decreased by 14-18%, water consumption - by 17-22%. Waste recycling rates ranged from 82 to 97%, depending on the product category. The use of energy and resource saving practices, sorting of industrial waste, reuse of water from washing potatoes in the production of chips, sending whey for processing into other food products have made the company's production practically waste-free.
Another example - from 2020, all 400Bosch offices around the world operate with zero carbon dioxide emissions. Bosch is the first operating industrial enterprise in the world to achieve a clean, zero carbon footprint in terms of energy generated and energy derived from external sources. Based on its own experience in climate neutrality, the company has created a separate operating unit to assist other companies working in this area. One solution is a cloud-based software solution for managing the energy consumption of Internet-connected machines and systems.
What else can companies do?
- Additional obligations. In the era of globalization, companies realizedanger of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore make voluntary commitments to reduce CO2 emissions. For example, companies such as PepsiCo, Apple, H&M have signed a voluntary UN commitment to reduce emissions with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C, and are also developing a long-term strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and transition to renewable energy sources.
- Working with data.Through the use of sensors with digitalBy incorporating self-programmable algorithms and efficiency conversion at the company's food production facilities, CO2 emissions have been reduced by more than 25,000 metric tons. The latest energy management platform uses data collected from devices at 12,000 metering points. Employees of this company can monitor, control and optimize the energy consumption of each individual machine. Technical solutions include ventilating production halls as needed, recovering waste heat from various processing processes, and intelligent energy management of equipment.
- Switching to hydrogen.Companies see hydrogen as importantbuilding block for the transition to alternative energy. Using green energy, the electrolyzer produces hydrogen and oxygen from water. Hydrogen can replace fuels such as oil or natural gas in the steel and chemical industries. Used in fuel cells, it can propel trains or cars.
Environmental solutions
Working with packaging
Many large food manufacturersFor a long time now, they have not only been concerned with the responsible use and recycling of packaging, but are also constantly introducing new programs and solutions in this direction. For example, when using cardboard packaging, a business switches to cardboard that has passed FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. The raw materials for this cardboard are sourced from responsibly managed forests. This allows you not to harm nature.
In the consumer sector, it is increasingly commonrecycled plastic packaging (rPET). Over the past few years, plastic recycling technologies have become more affordable, and the rPET bottle does not differ from the new one in terms of properties and appearance. The use of plastic in packaging is also decreasing due to the transition to more environmentally friendly materials. For example, a number of companies and brands, such as Johny Walker, PepsiCo, Unilever, announced the use of bottles and packaging made from cellulose, which is completely recyclable.
Packaging recycling programs
Packaging recycling programs are also developing:In this way, producers help consumers to become active participants in environmental initiatives, because in the fight for the environment it is important that everyone contributes. The consumer, for his part, must also consciously approach, for example, sorting and disposal of waste. If manufacturers introduce packaging that can be recycled (and today the percentage of such packaging is already very high), then the consumer's task is to be aware, sort waste, throw it into appropriate containers for collection.
Recycling programs:
- The PepsiCo project “Dispose of correctly” on Yandex.Maps. The goal of the project is to involve consumers in sorting waste and teach them how to do it correctly. In total, there are 19,761 points of separate waste collection on the map for further processing. It is interesting that not only the organizers, but also the project users themselves will be able to easily keep the map up-to-date and add points for separate waste collection. In support of the project, a website was also created where you can learn how to properly sort and dispose of waste and how each individual can reduce the amount of waste.
- Federal project "EcoAnswer" on separatewaste collection and recycling, created by the RusPRO association, the only association in Russia that has united the largest manufacturers of consumer goods with the goal of reducing waste and recycling packaging. The pilot region of the project was Lipetsk, where it is being implemented with the support of PepsiCo and Tetra Pak companies together with the regional operator JSC Ecoprom-Lipetsk and the processing plant L-PAK.
Separate waste collection includes cardboardpackaging of milk, juice and other products. Residents of Lipetsk will be able to deposit this waste in blue containers specially installed in the city. There are 36 of them in total. You can find out where the containers are located on Yandex.Maps. The packaging collected as part of the project will be recycled and used for secondary production: from the recycled materials received, the Lipetsk enterprise L-PAK produces environmentally friendly paper and corrugated packaging, including for the food industry and restaurant business.
The task of the pilot launch of the collection of cardboard packagingfor drinks in Lipetsk - to get feedback from citizens and assess how convenient and understandable the separate collection of a particular type of packaging is. Focus on Tetra Pak carton packs, which are often confused with other types of packaging and are sent to the regular carton and paper bin when it is possible to collect waste separately. Taking into account the results of the pilot in Lipetsk, the RusPRO association will adjust the mechanisms for introducing a separate collection system in other regions.
In support of business and citizen initiativesthe state, for its part, must also provide opportunities for the collection of waste sent for recycling, stimulate the construction of waste recycling plants, and so on. In fact, it is precisely close cooperation in this matter between the state, business and society that will solve one of the most serious problems today.
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