At
the end of December 2013, Volvo Construction Equipment’s Braås facility
completed its journey towards becoming carbon neutral. The 45,000
m2 site in southern Sweden, which specializes in the design and
manufacture of articulated haulers, is now powered entirely by renewable
energy sources – including wind, biomass and hydropower – that neither
produce harmful emissions nor contribute to the greenhouse effect.
This momentous
achievement follows in the footsteps of the Volvo Group’s trucks
facility in Ghent which sets the standard for emissions-free industrial
manufacturing in 2007. And just as Ghent became the first carbon neutral
facility in the automotive sector, Braås too becomes the first in its
respective industry.
“As one of our core
values, environmental care informs everything we do at Volvo,” says
Niklas Nillroth, Volvo CE’s vice president of Core Value Management
& CSR. “So we are extremely proud that the Volvo Group is leading
the way, not just in one industry, but two.”
Braås’ first step
towards carbon neutrality began in 1999, when it commissioned local
energy supplier Växjö Energi AB to install a district heating plant,
fuelled by wood chips, to provide central heating for its employees –
and the town’s residents. Braås then joined a Volvo Group initiative in
2007 that saw it switch to green electricity (i.e. generated from
renewable sources).
These
first two initiatives brought the site’s level of CO2 neutrality to 87%
to 2008, with the final push to reach 100% beginning two years ago.
Staff identified the greatest source of energy consumption as the
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) burners, which were used to heat the rust
protection treatment ovens to 60°C. These were systematically replaced
from September 2013 with district heating. The burners in the component
paint shop, which reach temperatures of 120°C, were also altered to
electrical heating. In addition, the site’s diesel forklifts were
substituted with electric battery models.
Meanwhile, locals and
the site’s 1,000 employees put pressure on Växjö Energi AB to run the
district heating plant on biomass only – regular oil had previously also
been used during peak times and maintenance.
“This is a tremendous
achievement driven by the dedication and tenacity of employees at
Braås,” says Nillroth. “But we couldn’t have achieved it without the
ready availability of green power in Sweden and the support of our local
community.”
Continued commitmentThe
next step is to focus more on energy saving activities – in particular,
reducing the idling consumption at the site. One initiative will
involve recycling waste heat from the treatment ovens and burners and
using it to heat the buildings. “Environmental care has, and will always
be, a top priority for Volvo CE, and while Braås may be the first
premises to achieve CO2 neutrality, all our sites are heading in the
right direction, creating incremental improvements to our global
footprint every day,” says Niklas Nillroth.
