18 minute read
Sustainability
PSSA Founding Member Inspired Energy PLC, the leading consultant for energy procurement, utility cost optimisation and legislative compliance in the UK and Ireland, is delighted to announce it has been awarded the London Stock Exchange’s (“LSE”) Green Economy Mark in recognition of its environmental and strategic advice, service and support to customers.
The Green Economy Mark allows greater visibility for investors interested in Green Economy activities and recognises those companies that are contributing to a greener and more sustainable economy. The LSE is the first exchange in the world to introduce such a certification and the award was made for ‘Environmental Consultancies (General) TIER 2 ES.01.0’ based on revenue generating activities related specifically to companies that provide advice and/or support regarding environmental issues and strategies. Commenting on the award, Mark Dickinson, CEO of Inspired, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the LSE Green Economy Mark in recognition of the high proportion of green revenue the Group generates in relation to our services to customers. ESG is at the heart of everything we do and as an ESG solutions provider it is important that we continue to lead by example in regard to best practice and reporting in order to remain at the forefront of energy and sustainability solutions in a Net Zero Carbon future.” Denzil Jenkins, Interim CEO, London Stock Exchange plc added: “We’re delighted to award Inspired Energy plc the Green Economy Mark. There is growing investor demand for actionable climate and environmentrelated financial information, with global asset allocations to green and sustainable finance increasing each year. The Green Economy Mark underlines London Stock Exchange’s commitment supporting issuers and investors in the transition to a greener economy.” Energy is typically the largest indirect cost most businesses face. As ESG becomes more central to investment decisions for every business, energy is one of the highest cost components in the ESG wheel and one of the most data intensive elements of the Climate change segment. Inspired Energy provides services to over 2,400 UK corporate business consumers, which represent c.6.7% of the UK’s expenditure on electricity and over 400 in the ROI.
To find out more about Inspired Energy, please visit: www.inspiredenergy.co.uk
ISION
CO2 MONITOR
The Vision CO2 Monitor is a high-quality UK Manufactured CO2, Temperature & Relative Humidity Monitor. This USB powered device provides a cost e ective ‘plug and play’ solution to help determine if further ventilation is required by providing a clear digital readout with a simple to understand tra c light backlit display.
ISION
HELP PROTECT AGAINST COVID-19
Key Features
USB powered Non-dispersive Infra-red (NDIR) CO2 sensor Clear digital readout Bold Tra c Light Indication Typical 10 year life expectancy Self-calibrating CO2 sensor Optional Wall Mount Bracket UK MANUFACTURED
Sustainability
How FM can help you ‘Go Green’
In this article we will be discussing how FM can help you to go green. This is a huge topic so this will be a high-level snapshot of some of the key drivers and areas where improvements can be made relatively quickly to get you on the road to becoming a more sustainable business.
Why do we need to act?
We are reminded daily of the negative effects of climate change. This affects us all whether it is the melting ice caps in the Antarctic, bush fires in Australia or if we look a little closer to home, summer flooding and depleting coast lines. It is something that most people are concerned about, whether that’s lowering our individual carbon footprint or improving our environmental impact to benefit future generations.
There is also the need to adhere to and meet new government guidelines and legislation as well as the good business sense it makes to be leading the way in creating sustainable business strategies that make a positive impact as opposed to be part of the problem.
Legal Requirements
There are several legal requirements that we need to be aware of and include in our sustainability planning including those mentioned below.
Climate Change Act 2008 - Through the Climate Change Act, the UK government has set a target to significantly reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a path to get there.
Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme - ESOS is a mandatory scheme applying to undertakings that meet the qualification criteria. The scheme is aimed at large undertakings and their corporate groups. A large undertaking is identified based on its number of employees or financial information relating to its turnover and balance sheet. Smaller undertakings that are part of a corporate group may be mandated to participate in ESOS if another group member qualifies for the scheme. A large undertaking is one that employs at least 250 people or has an annual turnover more than £50 million and a balance sheet in excess of £43 million. As an example, Derwent fm are part of a larger group and are fully aware of the energy savings opportunity scheme (ESOS) for large undertakings in the UK. We are therefore committed to meeting the requirements of ISO 50001 and ESOS.
Failure to be compliant with this legislation could lead to significant fines which obviously is not very good for your reputation as a business.
Energy management systems (EnMS)
Before developing the (EnMS), it is important to identify the scope and boundaries. This will include an understanding of the activities that are undertaken by the organisation and the facilities that are used. Energy uses should be considered when determining the scope of the management system. Dependent on the structure, size and makeup of the business, boundaries should be identified to highlight those sites/locations/activities where energy performance can be influenced. We can only influence the energy that we control and are responsible for.
Scope and boundaries
The first step is to identify the scope and boundaries. This will include an understanding of the activities that are undertaken by the organisation and the facilities that are used. Energy uses should be considered when determining the scope of the management system, for example, we’ve looked at things like having a full fleet of EV’s by 2025. We aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 by introducing an electric fleet and installing electric charging points on all sites where vehicles will be used. We’re also installing electric equipment to replace gas items and utilising 100% environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Energy Policy
Once you’ve identified your boundaries we can progress onto the next steps.
The energy policy is an integral part of the EnMS, which will not only highlight your senior management’s commitment to support and continually improve the effectiveness of the EnMS, but it will also highlight their commitment to improving energy performance, ensuring availability of information and resources to achieve objectives and targets set and complying with legal, customer and third part requirements.
In addition, the policy will highlight the significant energy uses and the support for purchasing energy efficient products and services. To give an example, we have a student-based app with a “Be Green” section to help educate and encourage students to be more sustainable, preparing them for energy saving opportunities beyond student life whilst also contributing to energy savings in their student halls.
Baseline Data
To be able to improve energy performance, we must first establish the energy usage between a specific period for each type of energy used, whether electricity, gas or fuel and in what capacity this is used. This is known as baseline data, which we can then use to identify Energy Performance Indicators (EnPIs). These can then be used to support the effective continuous improvement of the EnMS.
Baseline data, such as gas and electricity, can be gathered from several different sources and in several different ways. This can be from analysing the energy bills or sub-meter readings for an area or equipment. It is also possible to gather estimated energy consumption by obtaining the power rating in watts and the time spent in use. For example, a current in-house target is to reduce our fuel consumption for all sites by 2% over the coming year. We have established a baseline for this by collating mileage data for all our company cars based on companyissued fuel cards. This data will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of reduction initiatives e.g. company-sponsored cycle to work schemes and car sharing.
EnPIs are used to assess the actual energy performance against an expected outcome. This can vary depending on the operation and are selected by the organisation. For instance, Derwent fm have chosen an EnPI of energy consumption per unit of floor area plus energy consumption per person. Should the business activities change which would affect the relevance of the EnPIs, then these should be reviewed and updated accordingly. Just as an example we’ve been able to decrease our head office usage by 49% overall.
Energy Performance Review
When performing the energy review, it is beneficial to have the baseline data collated within an energy performance spreadsheet or similar. From here a review of the types of energy, type/name of equipment, power rating and energy consumption period whether weekly, monthly, or annually.
This will allow for identification of the significant energy uses and be able to identify what equipment uses the most energy. This can be taken from either method detailed above regarding actual data from energy bills/sub meters or from estimates used by considering the equipment specification and time in use.
Energy Saving Opportunities
Where energy savings can be influenced by having direct control of the asset or energy consumption, practical savings can be adopted such as replacing light bulbs to LED which last longer and are very low energy consumers and solar glazing. This is being planned with our customers with a view to both reducing their carbon footprints and their utility spends, with savings estimated at £125,000 across our customer portfolio.
Derwent fm are approaching energy savings through procurement and life cycle management plans. As a business we inform our supply chain that energy performance will be evaluated when selecting products, services or equipment that may impact on any significant energy use. By adopting this approach, we hope to change behaviour and culture regarding energy consumption, and it aligns to our energy policy. Across our sites we have managed to achieve a 5% decrease in our total energy consumption from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 so far.
If you would like to know more about how your facilities management can positively contribute to your business’s environmental and sustainability goals, please visit our website.
Special Feature Cooling Tower Q & A
Chris King is the Industrial Disinfection Sales Director - EMEA at Evoqua Water Technologies. When he is not sampling wines of the world or basking on deserted beaches, he is driving innovation and leading growth in industrial water solutions across a range of market sectors.
Learn more about the types of application solutions Evoqua supplies for commercial, facilities and industrial customers in this Q&A.
Q. What role do cooling towers play in an industrial context?
Various industries including datacentres, commercial building and facilities maintenance utilize cooling towers to maintain heat transfer and enable process heat removal. In commercial or building applications, cooling towers are utilised to ‘comfort cool’ the people who work in them.
Q. What are the types of problems that clients come to you with?
There are really only four main water treatment issues that we deal with: biological contamination, corrosion, fouling and scaling. They are issues mainly because they reduce energy efficiency, which means more electricity to do the same job and increased overheads as a result.
Q. Can you tell us more about what causes these issues?
Wherever cooling towers are installed are usually hot and humid places, ideal for the growth of unwanted bacteria. These bacteria eventually form a thin film we call a biofilm inside the equipment which reduces thermal efficiency. These bacteria can be dangerous for staff working in the facility, and are certainly not great for the efficiency of your cooling tower.
Corrosion and leaks are the other thing, especially in closed loop systems. A cooling system that is not maintained is prone to corrosion caused by air, sodium and other chemicals that are found in our water supplies. Once the metal starts to corrode, that’s when leaks happen.
In terms of fouling, cooling surfaces or pipes often get clogged with debris, dirt and dust. When water can’t pass through the heat exchanger, the air doesn’t cool which means the system has to work harder, using more electricity in the process.
The build-up of minerals in the water we use in the cooling towers can contribute to the excessive creation of deposits like calcium which lead to a reduction in heat transfer efficiencies and increased operating and maintenance costs. That’s what we call scaling.
Q. What water cooling treatment solutions does Evoqua offer?
In EMEA, Evoqua offers a range of disinfection products to help solve the complex issues around cooling tower disinfection.
Our products include UV disinfection systems, chlorine dioxide generation, onsite hypochlorite generation, gas chlorination and ozone, meaning we really do have the depth of portfolio to match your treatment need to the best technology.
We also offer filtration solutions to remove suspended solids and control biological growth in the recirculating water stream. These filtration solutions, deployed either side stream or full flow, support reducing water make up required to keep the cooling system running efficiently.
By deploying our products in your system, we will allow industrial plants to run more sustainably by reducing energy and chemical consumption, saving on electricity and lowering costly overheads.
Q. What are the key benefits of an Evoqua solution?
There’s no doubt that our water-cooling treatment solutions do exactly what they should do: improve system efficiency, minimise annual cleanings, boost the effectiveness of chemical programmes, support microbiological control, and from a management perspective, significantly reduce overheads.
But what you also get when you opt for an Evoqua solution is the expert consultancy that comes as part and parcel of our sales team. We challenge ourselves to really understand the needs of your business, and collaborate with you to get those needs met. Our multi-technology portfolio means that we will always match the right technology to your application – and provide you with the product to solve your challenges. With a comprehensive service and aftermarket capability, we are never going to just sell you the equipment and disappear.
Q. Can you tell us what areas you specialise in?
Evoqua globally has about 100 years’ experience as the trusted advisor to 38,000 municipal, industrial and recreational customers. So, we have a pretty broad repertoire. The industrial markets we cover include food & beverage, healthcare, microelectronics, pharma, power generation, refining and chemicals, commercial, facilities and datacentres.
Due to the pandemic and the whole world suddenly needing to work and school and be entertained from home, growth in the latter is really strong at the moment and a core focus for our team.
Q. Could we talk briefly about individual disinfection and filtration systems & how they compare?
At Evoqua, we are lucky enough to have a depth of portfolio that allows us to make an informed decision based on needs of customer. It’s totally dependent on the situation, environment and specific needs of the client. 1. Chlorine dioxide generators deliver all the preoxidation and disinfection benefits of chlorine dioxide with safety and efficiency in mind 2. In chemistry-controlled environments, disinfection process analysers and controllers provide compliance with health, safety and regulatory standards, optimise process efficiency and minimise chemical overdosing to maintain customer satisfaction and reduce operating costs 3. OSEC® On-Site Hypochlorite systems safely generate sodium hypochlorite on-demand, using only salt, water and power. With over 30 years of success, this in-situ product works well across municipal, aquatics and industrial markets 4. UV is used for disinfection and removal of organic and inorganic contaminants, including chlorine, ozone and total organic carbon. Key benefits include low maintenance and running costs without the need for large scale storage, handling or transportation of bulk chemicals 5. Chlorine gas has been the predominant chemical for the disinfection of water for over 100 years. Using a remote vacuum-operated gas feeder, a chlorine solution is prepared on-site by dosing the chlorine gas into the process water – both safe and economical 6. VAF™ Screen Filters are automatic self-cleaning screen filters for removal of suspended solids which provide costeffective, efficient, and spacesaving solutions to reduce water waste and limit maintenance 7. High-Efficiency Microsand Filters allow the unit to operate at filtration rates of up to four times greater than those of traditional media filters, while filtering 10-50 times finer - reducing water consumption, saving energy, reducing chemical costs, and requiring minimal maintenance.
For us, the goal is to ensure that cooling towers run superefficiently to reduce energy and chemical consumption, save on electricity and lower the total cost of doing business. The last thing that clients want is an outage that means downtime - costing money, causing headaches and damaging brand reputation.
Connect with Chris King on LinkedIn.
Join the PSSA - Launching the Public Sector Sustainability Association
The Public Sector Sustainability Association (PSSA) provides a professional association and network for all those working in the Public Sector who have a common interest in sustainability. The aim of the association is to bring together a wide group of people working across all areas of the Public Sector – to help educate, train, support and connect as we work towards a more sustainable future.
Never has there been a more pressing need and indeed, requirement for individuals and organisations to turn their attention to sustainability and take stock of their environmental impact on our world.
An increasing number of UK local authorities have declared a climate emergency. But having made this important step, what happens next? Well for many sustainability professionals working within these authorities, they simply do not know. Logically, the first step that can be taken is to develop a strategy to address the challenge of the emergency they have declared. However there are a number of pitfalls and issues which can arise when doing so and there is a need for the individuals tasked with creating such a plan to be given the knowledge and support they need to do so.
Similar issues are faced by professionals working in the NHS (the health and care system in England is responsible for an estimated 4-5% of the country’s carbon footprint), Universities, Schools and of course central Government.
Through the PSSA we hope to provide these individuals with the support, guidance and knowledge that will assist them and by extension, the entire country in tackling the climate emergency and recuding their organisations carbon footprint. The assocation will provide the latest news and developments, best practice, case studies, white papers, reports and guides to this aim.
There is no charge for membership to those working within the Public Sector and we are now open to new members. If you are interested in joining, please visit our website where you will find more detailed information about the association and also a membership form to join.
www.pssa.info
PSSAWARDS
Public Sector Sustainability Awards
Highlight your commitment to sustainability - become an environmental leader.
The purpose of the Public Sector Sustainability Awards is simple - to promote environmental leadership, to innovate and to inspire all those working in the Public Sector committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their organisation.
HOW TO ENTER:
There is no qualifying criteria that needs to be satisfied in order to enter the awards. All we ask is that entrants send us up to 2000 words detailing the activities undertaken by them to reduce, by any means, the impact of their organisation on our environment. Please feel free to attach any images, graphs, charts etc to support your entry.
You can focus your entry on just one project or multiple schemes. You can enter as an individual or on behalf of your organisation, or both, as there are awards for both categories.
There is no charge for entry.
If you wish to enter, please complete the registration form at www.pssa.info/pssawards or download the form from the website, complete it and email it back to us. Your completed entry needs to be submitted by the 31st January 2020 and should include images and/or logos.
Please send your entries through to submissions@pssa.info.
If that is not possible, you can mail them to:
PSS Awards, 42 Wymington Park, Rushden NN10 9JP
PSSA
Public Sector Sustainability Association
BECOME A CORPORATE MEMBER
The Public Sector Sustainability Association (PSSA) provides a professional association and network for all those working in the Public Sector who have a common interest in sustainability. The aim of the association is to bring together a wide group of people working across all areas of the Public Sector – to help educate, train, support and connect as we work towards a more sustainable future.
Corporate membership of the Public Sector Sustainability Association is available to any private sector organisation wishing to reach committed and influencial sustainability professionals in Government, Local Authorities, NHS, Education and Housing Associations.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
• Comprehensive listing in Suppliers Directory • Unlimited opportunity to supply press releases, articles & news to feature on PSSA website • One release for inclusion in monthly Newsletter. • Logo on PSSA homepage • Introductory email sent to our members as the latest Corporate Member to join the PSSA • Logo - ‘Member of the PSSA’ to use on your own websites/materials • 25% off Website/Newsletter banner advertising • 25% off Newsletter sponsorship
WHAT DOES IT COST
The annual membership fee is £495+VAT.
Interested in becoming a Corporate Member of the PSSA? Get in touch today - call us on 01933 316931 or email us at info@pssa.info
