GR Advanced Materials Ltd

Ladysneuk Road, Stirling, FK9 5NZ
Part of the Ricoh group

This is a summary of our environmental improvement activities since we started around 10 years ago as part of our ISO 14001 EMS implementation.

CO2 Emissions 1999	1135 tonnes
CO2 Emissions 2009	482 tonnes
Overall Reduction	57.5%

ELECTRICITY AND GAS REDUCTION

We measured our carbon footprint to include energy usage, waste disposal and business travel. We found 91% of our emissions came from electricity and gas usage (with electricity at 74%). This has been our main target for reduction since 1999.

	Electricity (kWhr)	Gas (kWhr)
Usage 1999	2323558	713596
Usage 2009	984330	532397
Overall Reduction	57.6%	25.4%

Installation of Additional Meters and Monitoring: Additional meters were installed so we could monitor different parts of our factory and identify the main electricity consumptions areas. The meters are read each month, graphed and reviewed by our Environmental Committee. We also received energy consumption data from our electricity supplier (every 30 mins) for whole site consumption. This helps to identify unusual patterns of energy usage – from this we found our night shift security guard was switching on a lot of lights in the factory during his patrols (estimated saving £500/year)
Compressors: Compressed air is used extensively in the factory and making it consumes a lot of energy. Our compressor equipment was old technology and was replaced with variable speed drive compressors which are energy efficient. The compressors are switched off when the factory is not running.
Compressed Air Line Pressure: Compressed air is supplied to equipment by a network of pipes which is kept at a minimum air pressure – as soon as the line pressure drops (e.g. through usage) the compressor starts up to restore the pressure, and the higher the line pressure the more energy is consumed to maintain this. We reviewed the air pressure level required by our equipment and found we could reduce the line air pressure without any adverse effect on our equipment and processes.
Compressed Air Leaks: Leaks from the compressed air pipe network simply throws energy and money away. We identify compressed air leaks by listening for leaks when the factory is not running and then repairing them. We monitor the effectiveness of our repairs by checking the line air pressure and measuring how long it takes for the pressure to fall.
Chiller Water Temperature: Chilled water is used in the factory to cool machines and equipment, and is a good way of reducing water usage. However the Chiller equipment used to cool the water consumes a lot of energy, the cooler the water the more energy consumed. We reviewed the water temperature required and found we could increase water temperature from 6 to 12oC with no adverse effect. As with the compressors the chiller is switched off when the factory is not running.
Energy Efficient Lighting: We replaced old technology fluorescent lighting with new slimline energy efficient fluorescent tubes. The new lights require new fittings so we introduced them as offices / areas were re-furbished. Lighting technology is improving all the time – we are now investigating introducing new lights in our warehouse. These will have presence sensors and light level sensors so they will switch off automatically when the warehouse is unoccupied or the sun shines.
Light Bulb Removal: We have reviewed lighting levels in all of our offices and removed lights where they are not needed e.g. in an office lighting is mainly needed above the desk where a person works and so light bulbs / tubes can be removed in other parts of the office – we removed 378 fluorescent lights saving 23000 kWhrs (£2200) per year. We carried out a similar study with lighting in the factory areas and removed 25 lights saving 12000 kWhrs (£1100).
Presence Sensors: Routine monitoring identified that lights were often left on in toilets, meeting rooms, changing rooms, laboratories and rest areas when unoccupied. All these areas were used by a number of people and hence it was not possible to allocate responsibility for switching off to a single person. Presence sensors have been installed in these areas to automatically switch off the lights when not in use.
Office Re-organisation: Over the years the company has employed fewer people. Offices have been re-organised to ensure the most effective use of space, and some offices have been decommissioned to ensure they do not consume energy.
Heating and Air Conditioning Policy: A policy was developed for use in all offices. This stated when it was appropriate to use heating or air conditioning and information about good practise (e.g. use natural ventilation to cool offices, wear warm clothes when cold). The policy is displayed in each office and a thermometer is attached to the policy so people can check the office temperature. Regular audits are carried out to enforce the policy.
Company Uniform / Clothing: We operate a company uniform policy where people are expected to wear company logo uniform. We reviewed the type of clothing supplied to include fleeces to keep people warm in winter and hence reduce the need to heat offices.
Monitors Set to Powersave Mode: Most people forget to switch off their PC Monitors when they leave their desk, so they have all been set to switch off after 5 minutes.
Ricoh Sign: Ricoh use illuminated signs to advertise the company name and products. Since our site is located away from public view we switched off the sign permanently. Other Ricoh sites switch off their signs each year as part of Ricoh Global Eco Action Day.
Timers to Control Equipment: Packaging used for our ink products is constructed using a packaging machine that uses hot melt glue. The glue is heated in reservoirs and takes 1-2 hours to heat up. Since the packing line only runs for one shift per day we use timers to switch on the glue baths 2 hours before the shift starts and to switch them off at the end of shift (previously they were left on continuously). Timers are also used to control other equipment like photocopiers and air conditioning units in laboratories.
Production Cycle Times: Through the use of Kaizen techniques we have reduced production cycles time (the time taken to make a unit of product) – this provides benefits in production and energy efficiency.

Curing time reduced from 4 to 2 days (curing involves heating big rolls of laminated product to 30oC to cure the adhesive). This used to be carried out in 2 large heated chambers – by reducing the curing time we decommissioned 1 of the chambers.
Production Planning: The Laminator is our most energy hungry piece of equipment, and requires considerable energy and time to start up it up. This is planned to run as a long production run (e.g. 1 week) and then shut down for a long time (e.g. 1 week) so the equipment is used as efficiently as possible.
Energy Efficient Test Equipment: We use an x-ray spectrometer to test product – this equipment consumes a large amount of energy (2.4kW) and needs water for cooling. This equipment is left running 24/7. We purchased a new test machine which consumes less energy and doesn’t need water cooling – estimated saving of 18480 kWhrs (£1700). We purchased a moisture balance to check solids contents which allowed us to switch off a laboratory oven (these normally run 24/7).
Checking Thermostats: Most of the factory heating is controlled by thermostats. Employees sometimes adjust the thermostats, so these are checked twice / year and are locked to make them difficult to tamper with.
Challenging the Status Quo: Our Laminator machine is run in a controlled atmosphere (temperature and humidity). These conditions were deemed as necessary to guarantee product quality. The Air Handling Unit used to control the environmental conditions was switched off and a study of product quality vs temperature / humidity carried out, concluding that there was no correlation. This allowed the equipment to be switched off permanently saving gas and electricity usage.
SCADA Energy Monitoring: Energy monitoring information is manipulated using SCADA software to produce real time graphs of electricity consumption. This information is displayed on our intranet. We plan to use this information to set targets for energy consumption by production area and also as a management tool to check all items are switched off at the end of shift.
Out of Working Hours Audit: Audits of energy consumption are carried out when the factory is shut to identify equipment that has been left on. This is then fed back to the relevant person to help ensure it doesn’t happen again. This practise is carried out at factory shutdowns as a standard activity.
Switch Off Campaign: We involved all our employees in our energy reduction activities via a ‘Switch Off’ campaign. We asked everyone to look at their own work areas and generate ideas. We got good participation and a long list of items to investigate and action – this included carrying out a survey of lab ovens, putting timers on air conditioning units and switching off many items of test equipment. Most of these were new energy reduction items.
Reducing Base Load: The base load is the energy used when the factory is unoccupied e.g. monitoring equipment, certain items of test equipment. If we can reduce the base load then we can potentially benefit from the reductions 24/7. We found that our Environmental Test Chambers (10C and 30C) were left on all the time, yet were only used infrequently to carrying out testing. These are now only switched on when required.

WATER USE REDUCTION

Although water is generally plentiful in Scotland it is becoming an increasingly precious resource. It also has embedded CO2 from the energy used for the treatment processes and pumping through the network. We started our water reduction activities by regularly reading the meters and carrying out a mass balance.

Water Usage 1999	35233 tonnes
Water Usage 2009	2377 tonnes
Overall Reduction	93.3%

Mass Balance Study: As with electricity and gas, the meters are read each month, graphed and reviewed by our Environmental Committee. The mass balance study involved calculating the amount of water used in our products, cooling equipment and in the toilets and washrooms. We found there was a good correlation between the metered water usage and calculated indicating there were no major water leaks. We knew that a lot of water was used in our products, but we were surprised that it only represented 3% of our total water usage.
Urinals and Toilets: We measured the flush frequency for each set of urinals. We found that one was flushing every 90 seconds, which amounted to over 3000 tonnes of water per year. By simply adjusting the valve we reduced the flush frequency and saved over £1000. We found some of the Urinals were leaking so these were fixed. We fitted presence sensors to all the Urinals, so the flush frequency was reduced when not in use. We also fitted cistern bags to all the toilets to reduce the amount of water used per flush. The total water savings were nearly 4500 tonnes / year.
Equipment Cooling: We found 90% of water usage was used for machine and equipment cooling. We installed a Chiller to produce cold water on a closed loop system so that the chilled water cools equipment and is continuously re-used. Other new equipment installations requiring cooling have been connected to the Chiller water system.
Monitoring for Leaks: Water usage figures are monitored monthly and a sudden increase in usage indicates a potential leak. Since the water pipes are over nearly 40 years old, we have found 2 major leaks since 1999 and been able to take early action to reduce the impact.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

We could not achieve our environmental improvements without the input and support of our people. Our employees consider GRAM to be a green company as indicated from our employee satisfaction surveys. Achievement of a green culture is underpinned by our education and participation activities.

Induction Training: All employees are given a 1 hour environmental training session when they start at GRAM. This covers the main global environmental issues and good practise concepts; our policies and procedures; and an explanation of what is expected from our employees. The induction is supplemented by an Environmental Booklet, which is given to all new employees and re-enforces the induction training. Ongoing monitoring and re-enforcement of good environmental behaviours is achieved by regular appraisals.
Communication: Our environmental initiatives and performance are displayed on noticeboards, intranet and screens in the factory. As part of our management system we have environmental objectives and targets set every 2 years and these are reported monthly via a management meeting. We have an Environmental Committee with representatives from all levels of the organisation – the purpose of the committee is to actively promote good environmental practise and monitor our performance.
Ricoh Eco Action Week: Our parent company run an annual worldwide environmental activity in June to coincide with World Environment Day. All business units are encouraged to promote and get active participation in carbon reduction and sustainability related activities. In recent years we have carried out energy audits, encouraged low carbon transport to work and run an eco garden competition to encourage biodiversity.

Going Carbon Neutral Stirling

GR Advanced Materials Ltd