2008-09-15 - In the fourth part of our series on how ABB is cutting energy consumption in its own operations, we go to Sweden. Over a two-year period, energy consumption by ABB operations has been reduced by 5 percent. Landmark successes in energy savings and employee commitment have been achieved.
By
ABB Sustainability Affairs
ABB Sweden launched the program in January 2007 as part of a comprehensive ABB initiative to reduce energy consumption and mitigate climate change across the entire field of its global activities.
The program has identified some 125 different energy-saving projects to cut energy consumption and minimize the company’s environmental impact in Sweden. ABB Sweden has some 8,700 employees and operates facilities in 35 towns and cities, including several large manufacturing sites in renowned ABB locations like Västerås and Ludvika.
The projects fall into two categories - technical and behavioral – that are estimated to generate energy savings in the region of 20,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) a year. This is equivalent to 2,000 cubic meters of oil and 5,400 tons of CO2 emissions annually. For ABB this translates into a yearly financial saving of some 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.7 million).
Technical projects include the installation of heat recovery technologies and new ventilation systems at manufacturing facilities, and of energy-efficient lighting systems and low-energy light bulbs in factories and offices respectively.
Some impressive savings have already been achieved.
Waste heat that was previously released into the air at ABB factories is now used productively to heat up the facilities. This has slashed power consumption at, for instance, the high-voltage cables factory in Karlskrona from 5,800 megawatt-hours per year to 3,800 MWh. The next phase of the Karlskrona project will reduce annual power consumption by an additional 1,000 MWh, which takes overall energy savings at the facility to more than 50 percent.
Waste heat is used to warm buildings for the huge cable turntables at ABB's factory in Karlskrona, Sweden.
Behavioral projects aim to encourage employees to make energy efficiency an integral part of daily life. Simple but highly effective measures include extinguishing lights when leaving a room unoccupied and switching off PCs and office equipment at the end of the day.
ABB’s transportation and logistics activities are under constant analysis to ensure that the most effective and environmentally sound modes of transportation are used.Travel and transportation is the focus of several energy-saving projects. ABB’s transportation and logistics activities are under constant analysis to ensure that the most effective and environmentally sound modes of transportation are used. Staff are requested to use trains rather than airplanes for domestic trips, and goods are transported by rail rather than truck wherever possible.
Climate-neutral energy
One of the largest single contributors to ABB Sweden’s emissions reduction program is the switch to climate-neutral electricity. As of Jan. 1, 2008, ABB Sweden consumes only CO
2-free electric power, delivered by Fortum to all ABB facilities. This reduces CO
2 emissions by some 4,240 tons a year, which is equivalent to more than half the 5-percent target.
Finance for the energy-saving projects is via an innovative ABB energy fund which adds a 1.8 percent surcharge onto the price of each air ticket purchased by an ABB employee.
Energy efficiency is at the heart of ABB’s activities. A significant proportion of ABB’s revenues comes from the development of energy-efficient products and solutions.
The surcharge compensates for the carbon footprint of the journey and is used to finance small-scale energy-saving projects that are not always economically sustainable for the company. They include the installation of timers on photocopiers and printers that switch off automatically at a set time, and the distribution of power strips that enable office equipment to be extinguished at a single source rather than individually, device by device.
Such has been the success of the program that other ABB country organizations are introducing aspects of it into their energy-saving initiatives as part of ABB’s global effort to enhance the energy efficiency of its operations.