Scottish Leather Group's energy saving measures
across its three sites in the west of Scotland has enabled the
leading leather manufacturer to win the Carbon Trust's
Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Award 2012. The award
was presented on 17 May at Scottish Engineering's Annual Awards
Dinner in Glasgow.
Scottish Leather Group Ltd, the largest manufacturer of bovine
leather in the United Kingdom, produces specialist leathers for a
wide range of industries including furniture, marine, automotive
and aviation. The company has implemented a range of process
and building related energy efficiency measures and their concerted
efforts have resulted in an annual emissions reduction of over
3,000tCO₂, equivalent to a 46% decrease, and annual savings of
£900,000, despite increased production volumes. Investment in a
Thermal Energy plant at the company's main Bridge of Weir site,
converting waste from the leather making process into fuel to
generate renewable heat for direct reuse in production, was
particularly commended for the ambition, innovation and exemplary
environmental performance which this demonstrates. The company's
comprehensive and considered approach is not only increasing
efficiency and making cost savings, it is setting new standards for
sustainability in the entire leather industry. The commitment to
investment in their thermal energy plant has been visionary.
View the Scottish Leather
Group case study (PDF).
Scottish Leather Group is comprised of four leather
manufacturing subsidiaries, all located in the west of Scotland:
Andrew Muirhead and Son Ltd, Bridge of Weir Leather Company Ltd, W
J and W Lang Ltd, and NCT Leather Ltd., with a support and services
company, SLG Technology Ltd. The Group's environmental
strategy is executed by all of its 550 employees, ensuring all
understand the objectives and any responsibilities they have in
respect of energy management.
Dr. Warren Bowden, Director, SLG Technology, said:
"It is a great honour to accept the 2012 Carbon Trust Energy
Efficiency in Manufacturing Award on behalf of the Scottish Leather
Group. The world leather industry's first Thermal Energy
Plant opened at our Bridge of Weir site in 2010. It shows
how we stand out as an innovator and is enabling us
to produce leather sustainably and market our unique
brand of Low Carbon Leather to customers such as Aston Martin,
Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, British Airways, Emirates and Vertu. We
are very proud that our investment in environmental technologies
has delivered reduced carbon footprint, energy savings, new
customers and prestigious awards such as this from the Carbon
Trust."
Highly commended
Highly commended were Ardagh Group's energy
saving measures at its Irvine glass manufacturing plant and Fife
Joinery's energy saving measures at its factory in Glenrothes.
Ardagh Group, a global leader in glass and metal manufacturing,
supply products ranging from beer bottles to medicine bottles, and
have over 15,000 employees worldwide making over 90 billion
containers in a wide-range of types. A concerted energy saving
programme at its plant in Irvine, Ayrshire has resulted in an
annual reduction of approximately 2,405tCO₂ emissions, with annual
savings for the company of over £165,000.
The successful implementation of the company's energy efficiency
programme was highly commended... Ardagh's diligent and methodical
approach to achieving energy, carbon and costs savings at the
Irvine site was praised. The company's systematic implementation of
variable speed drives into various aspects of the glass production
process was highly praised for its innovation within the glass
container industry. It was also noted that this approach can be
scaled up, with the potential for substantial savings if and when
carried across the international sites in the Ardagh
Group.
The work undertaken by the Ardagh Group, and the results they
have achieved, is an excellent example of how a business can save
money and help the environment by becoming energy efficient. The
company have made considerable improvements in various aspects of
the glass container production process and continue to demonstrate
commitment to improvement in energy efficiency within the Irvine
site and indeed across the company's network of European
operations.
Ray Blackwell, Plant Director for Ardagh Group Irvine said:
"Ardagh are delighted to receive recognition for the work by
everyone at the factory in reducing the impact on both the
environment and Ardagh's business as a whole. We would like to
thank the Carbon Trust for their continued support of Ardagh Group
in Irvine."
Fife Joinery Manufacturing Ltd, the UK
manufacturing arm of the VELUX Group, produces double glazed roof
windows at its factory in Glenrothes. Employing around 200 people,
the company occupies a number of buildings at the Glenrothes site,
including offices, warehousing and manufacturing facilities.
Their concerted efforts made to save energy have resulted in annual
cost savings of £150,000.
The successful implementation of the company's CO₂ Reduction
Project was highly commended by the Carbon Trust yesterday (17 May)
at Scottish Engineering's Annual Awards Dinner at the Marriott
Hotel in Glasgow. Through resolute dedication, the company
has demonstrated how to successfully reduce energy costs and its
carbon footprint across all aspects of their operations. A
combination of installing a biomass boiler, lighting controls, an
intelligent chip extraction system and a new energy efficient air
compressor has reduced the company's carbon footprint by 57% in
recent years. Particular recognition was given to Fife Joinery's
pro-active approach towards awareness training and information
campaigns to involve the entire workforce.
The work undertaken by Fife Joinery Manufacturing Ltd and the
results they have achieved is an excellent example of how a
business can save money and help the environment by becoming energy
efficient. The company's all-encompassing approach in identifying
where energy efficiencies could be achieved is setting new
standards for sustainability in the industry. In addition, the
company has been able to exceed the targets for environmental
performance set by the VELUX Group which they continue to deliver
through a range of energy management projects based at the
Glenrothes site.
Garry Farmer, Energy Manager at Fife Joinery Manufacturing Ltd
said:
"We always strive to make significant carbon reductions in all
areas of our manufacturing process so we are delighted our efforts
have been recognised by the Carbon Trust Scotland. We will continue
to work hard to reduce the company's emissions and increase energy
efficiency in the future."
Carbon
Trust Scotland offers a number of services specifically for
Scottish companies and organisations to help reduce Scotland's
carbon footprint in business and the public sector.