Enough energy to power a village
Veka Group was awarded the International Standard ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems following a four-day audit; 2018 alone saw enough energy saved to power 750 average-sized houses for a full year.
MD Dave Jones said: “We’re very proud to have seen our hard work in this area recognised, but the certification is by no means the end point; rather, an important milestone in our continuous endeavour to reduce energy across the business.
“One of our biggest energy-related investments in recent years was a new substation that enabled the introduction of 81 sub-meters across the business. These give instant measurable feedback on our usage and any improvement actions taken. We replaced an existing transformer with a newer, more energy-efficient version which achieved a saving of 30,000kWh/year, and our operations managers have set energy consumption parameters for the extrusion lines which are checked every day.
“Significant parts of the extrusion equipment have also been upgraded saving 255,000kWh per year.”
An ongoing switchover to LED lighting across the site has so far saved 350,000kWh per year while refurbishment of one of the office blocks at the company’s Burnley site allowed the latest energy-efficient air conditioning units to be introduced, saving 30% against the originals.
Veka Group’s energy-saving efforts also extend to its vehicles: a replacement programme means the whole HGV fleet is now ‘Euro 6’ and, along with effective load and route planning, which has reduced fuel consumption by 20% over the past 12 months.
The company is also training a number of ‘energy champions’ within the team who will have responsibility for cascading information to colleagues about how to further reduce energy usage across the business.
