Climate change is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the world. Urgent, global action is needed to limit its consequences.
ABB focuses its climate change efforts on three main areas:
- Supporting efforts by customers – particularly in utilities and industry – to cut greenhouse gas emissions
- Raising energy efficiency within the company and its manufacturing processes
- Strengthening the use of clean energy sources such as wind power
ABB’s greatest contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases is through products, systems and solutions.
They include: High-efficiency motors and variable-speed drives for motors; advanced industrial information technology to control and optimize power grids and industrial processes; and certain types of substation and transformer which have minimal losses.
Not surprisingly, climate change has boosted interest in clean energy technology and renewable power sources.
As a leading supplier of equipment to the global wind power industry, ABB has a strong role to play. Its ability to harness wind power and integrate it into electrical grids was underlined by a major contract in 2006 for equipment and cable connections off the coast of The Netherlands, and by ABB’s involvement in a proposed pan-European subsea energy grid.
A Group-wide internal energy-savings program, designed to cut consumption by five percent over two years, is on track to meet its targets.
In a country like Switzerland, for example, ABB is working with a state body and private companies to reduce emissions. ABB’s contribution includes slashing its CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2010 through greater energy efficiency in its buildings and improvements in manufacturing processes.
As a whole, the company is responsible for 1.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions – relatively low compared to other industrial concerns – and is constantly looking at ways to reduce that level.
It’s not only carbon emissions where ABB faces challenges. The company uses sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) – a potent greenhouse gas – in some high-voltage electrical equipment and other applications, which lowers their environmental impact.
ABB employs strict SF6 handling procedures and efficient tracing and inventory systems to minimize any risk of leaks, and also dismantles and recycles old products under controlled conditions.
Apart from company-wide measures, ABB acknowledges the need for international and sector-specific initiatives. Senior executives have been taking part in the World Economic Forum’s G8 Climate Change roundtable and the 3C (Combat Climate Change) initiative launched by Swedish utility Vattenfall.