Above: The Almelo site in the Netherlands now has an installed solar capacity that could generate up to 2% of its total annual demand


complemented with self-generation where appropriate. We obviously have always got the 2030 as our goal but the timing varies depending on the country and the availability of contracts,” says Pye, adding: “We’ve got that arrangement in place on one of our four sites. We’re looking realistically more towards the tail end of the decade to get the sites fully switched over. However, there are opportunities to start that process earlier and it’s not going to be something that we switch overnight. We’re looking at reducing the carbon intensity through those opportunities. It really depends on the country and the availability of low-carbon contracts at the moment.” Indeed, the Capenhurst, UK, site is already supplied


through a contract that is essentially zero carbon as it is backed by nuclear electricity from the UK nuclear fleet.


Tuning in to the supply chain Alongside solar and contracting low-carbon energy supplies, Urenco is also looking at where savings can be made in its energy use too. Over time, for example, embedding further energy efficiency with its centrifuge technology will reduce their consumption even while sustaining production capacity or even increasing it. “It’s something that we’re very conscious to make sure that we improve, not only in terms of reliability from an asset perspective, but making sure that we embed efficiency into our processes. This is where net zero is a real opportunity, because it gives this perspective of decarbonisation and improving efficiency as a driver to business as well. We’ve always recognised that is important as a business priority so every opportunity we have to improve efficiency, we’re looking at,” says Pye. Urenco also highlights its engagement with its supply chain in a bid to address its Scope 3 emissions too and the company is already engaging with more than 80% of their highest emitting suppliers through the EcoVadis programme. Pye explains: “We’re busily working on our Scope 3 supply chain emissions. Last year we made a lot of progress where we’ve updated the way that we engage with our suppliers and with EcoVadis and we’re now using that to springboard


and upskill our procurement teams to be able to engage with our supply chain and both discuss carbon and how we can measure and improve their carbon intensities going forward. We recognise that this is a collaborative space that we really need to push forward in. We’re developing techniques to make sure that we can actually decarbonise that in the coming months and years as well.” Pye emphasises not only how keen the company


is to engage with the supply chain both in traditional procurement aspects, but also from the nuclear fuel cycle as well, and the positive response from the industry: “Early on, what we’ve seen is through this engagement is that a lot of our suppliers in the nuclear fuel cycle are keen to engage and keen to talk about carbon. We’re really proud of that effort and the buy-in that we’ve had from the supply chain gives us confidence going forward because the reach-out has given us an indication of the level of ambition that our suppliers have in terms of targets as well. Also, we share our experiences. We help our supply chain to decarbonise and in turn that helps us to decarbonise,” he says. Indeed, Pye is hugely positive about decarbonisation,


even for sectors seen as traditionally challenging: “If we look at mining, I don’t see it as an area that can’t decarbonise. Can they decarbonise at the rates that other industries can? That’s the potential question mark that we need to look at and see where we can go but there’s been a lot of positivity from the supply chain, which has given us a lot of enthusiasm to push forward. There’s a lot of opportunity because it’s a new area for exploring decarbonisation.” Looking ahead, Pye is optimistic that Urenco’s own


efforts will inspire change elsewhere too: “We’re confident that we’re still highly ambitious in the sector and that our approaches hopefully will drive change throughout the supply chain.”


With an ambitious timeframe of just six years to a 90%


reduction, Urenco is certainly setting the bar high, but having achieved a 26% reduction in the four years since its 2019 baseline, the company is evidently showing change for the better is possible. ■


www.neimagazine.com | March 2024 | 21


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