T


he factory of the future will have to produce more from less – the pressure is on from a range of sources to be more energy efficient and use fewer resources than its present- day counterparts.


Energy costs now represent an average of around 12% of total cost for UK business, according to the RWE npower Business Energy Index. In the long term, energy prices are expect- ed to remain high but also to experience consider- able volatility. Policy responses to the imperative of dealing with climate change, such as carbon markets and tighter regulation will also exert their own pressure on prices. Industry, with its high energy usage and resource consumption, is right in the line of fire.


Customers, regulators, shareholders and employees all expect more from business when it comes to the environment, says Steve Barker, head of energy efficiency and environmental care at Siemens Industry. “The green agenda is much more important than it was five years ago,” he points out. Most of the focus has been on cutting carbon emissions, but in recent years the impor- tance of using scarce resources such as water more efficiently has also come to the fore. The sustainability agenda is being driven by a crowded policy landscape that starts at global level with the Kyoto Protocol and the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the next one is due in 2013, so the focus on the environment will increase again over the next few years. The recent publication of the UN-backed TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and


Biodiversity) report for business has introduced a new element into the sustainability debate, with governments agreeing to set up an ecosystems equivalent of the IPCC that will drive pressure for businesses to account for the “ecosystems services” they use.


At EU level, targets to increase the amount of energy generated from renewable sources by 2020 to 20% and to make the economy 20% more energy efficient are backed up by legislation encouraging business to be more sustainable, from the Eco-Design and Energy Performance in Buildings directives to rules on disposal of all types of waste and the Emissions Trading Scheme. Meanwhile, the UK has introduced the world’s first climate change legislation and the coalition government has proclaimed its aim to be “the greenest government ever”. At UK level, feed-in tariffs for microgeneration, the Climate Change Levy, building regulations, landfill tax and the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme all add to the incentivisation of efficiency measures.


While the roll-out of renewable energy technology such as wind power is far more eye- catching and monopolises the public debate, in fact the opportunities are much greater and quicker to pay off in energy efficiency – 23% of the emissions reductions required to meet our tar- gets will come from renewable & bio-energy, but


57% of the CO2 reduction is possible from ener- gy efficiency, according to the International Energy Agency. However, there is still much to be done in


04 | Sustainable Business | Green works | September 2010


industry to improve efficiency. “Most organisa- tions have done something,” Barker says, “but very few have really addressed the issue proper- ly.” Or, to put it another way, there are still huge opportunities out there for industry to become more efficient, cut costs and reduce energy consumption and emissions. While it is important to approach each business individually, a number of technologies are widely applicable across a range of sectors and sites. In water, the key business issues include oper- ational costs and efficiency, legislation and com- pliance, as well as reputation. In some cases, com- panies find that it is more economical to treat water and wastewater on site than pay for the water utility to do it, particularly if they can then reuse the treated water. While the UK currently enjoys some of the lowest water prices in Europe, increasing water scarcity will, over time, drive up its cost to industrial users so it makes sense to act now. Wastewater effluents are heavily regulated and facilities have to meet targets on the quality of the water discharged to watercourses. Process water, in certain sectors, requires differing quality levels. These are dependant on companies’ own stan- dards, the demands of the physical process or the requirements of the end user. When it comes to energy, lighting accounts for 19% of global energy consumption, yet nearly 70% of electricity is used by lamps for which a better alternative is available, says David Ellis from Siemens’ lighting division, OSRAM. Three quarters of UK buildings still use lighting design


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