Environment Newsletter
AUGUST 2009
Kilwaughter Amongst Top 30 Most Environmentally Responsible Companies in N. I
Carbon Footprint
Over the past year there has been a major drive to reduce power and energy usage. A number of improvements that have been made to aid this are:
- The replacement of new pallets with recycled pallets: saving 16 tonne of timber
- Reducing the number of surplus bags: reduced CO2 emissions by 5 tonne, due to the electricity saved
- A small reduction in the thickness of the shrink wrap: saved over 4 tonne of plastic
- New sample boxes have been designed, reducing the amount of packaging and transport therefore reducing emissions
- Reducing the number of boards in each pallet: saved 60 tonne of timber
- In order to cut down on paper and transport costs all company literature is now available in electronic format, this can all be found in the literature library on the web site
- A company wide initiative has been undertaken to increase recycling
- More efficient plant and processes resulting in CO2 saving
Such improvements have allowed the company to consistently reduce their carbon footprint year on year, and excel in Independent Survey in N. Ireland’s Business Standards (Quintile 1) making them one of the top 30 most environmentally responsible companies in N. Ireland.
Over the last year the energy use has been monitored on all parts of the business. This covers dryer oil, electricity and all diesel used both on site and for delivery and haulage. Despite the downturn in the building sector market Kilwaughter has still managed to reduce the power (kwh) used to manufacture each tonne by over 3% and reduce our carbon footprint by over 2% for each tonne produced.
Green Dragon
Kilwaughter Chemical Company Ltd operates an Environmental Management System (EMS) that is certified to the Green Dragon Environmental Standard, which is UKAS accredited and independently inspected. The standard ensures that current practice takes into account the environmental impact of every action. Green Dragon requires that companies demonstrate continuing improvement thus ensuring future development is carried out responsibly and with the environment as a key consideration.
Energy Saving
In an ongoing effort to reduce the use of energy at Kilwaughter Chemical Co Ltd a number of simple but effective steps have been taken:
Reducing waste products
- Ensuring efficient use of transport
- Driving economically
- Turning off electrical equipment rather than leaving it on standby
- Turning off lights
- Turning down heating