ABB is cutting its energy use by five percent over the two years through 2007 to reduce costs and fulfill its commitment to curbing emissions of carbon dioxide, the main gas held responsible for global warming.
The scheme was born from concerns ABB shares with the United Nations that man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are influencing the global climate.
The measures needed to meet ABB's five percent savings target are being determined locally at about 380 production and administrative sites worldwide. The savings achieved will be measured and monitored by an existing global network of about 400 employees responsible for sustainability and environmental issues.
A thermal image helped identify where energy was being wasted at an ABB office block in Mannheim, Germany.|
"The goal we have set ourselves follows from a plan to reduce ABB's emissions of greenhouse gases by 1 percent per year that ran from 1998 to 2003," said Curt Henricson, head of environmental affairs at ABB. "It's a realistic objective."
In Germany, ABB's third-biggest market, the management is targeting a 15 percent reduction in energy used by the end of 2007 in part of its Mannheim headquarters complex where 900 people work. The five steps to improve insulation range from replacing the windows and climate-control equipment to installing a revolving door at the entrance and blinds that are centrally regulated.
Big savings in Sweden
Sweden has been among the most active parts of the business when it comes to energy savings, and not only in response to the latest program.
After reducing electricity consumption by 70 percent from 1996 to 2005, a machinery unit that employs 400 people in Vasteras expects a further 11 percent reduction in 2006. The latest cuts are being achieved thanks to new energy efficient equipment for precision work, operating the ventilation and ovens for shorter periods and replacing old equipment for making compressed air.
Smaller ventilators equipped with frequency converters and timers has brought big savings in Sweden.|
In Ludvika, north of Vasteras, one of the measures taken was to install equipment to regulate the speed of six pumps that supply a factory heating system with hot water so that they are only active when needed. The pumps now use 76 percent less power, representing a saving of $106,000 per year.
A similar saving has been achieved at another Swedish factory, in a paper mill in Figeholm, by switching off two of the three heating systems and using heat generated by the manufacturing activities to warm the building. The mill makes insulation paper for transformers and motors.
Individual goals
The countries and sites in which ABB operates have set individual savings goals based on the amount of energy used for each unit of production or employee rather than on absolute levels of energy consumed. This ensures that the savings plan doesn't hinder the company's growth.
The motors business, for instance, calculates the energy used per megawatt of motor capacity produced. The units making transformers, the equipment that raises and lowers voltages so that electricity can be distributed, is seeking to reduce the amount of energy needed to make each megavolt ampere (MVA) of transformer capacity.
As for administrative sites, such as the head office in Zurich, Switzerland, the calculation is based on the energy consumed per employee.