Let’s start with mining. To access the materials required for many, many aspects of our lives, mining companies have to dig them out of the ground and then they have to extract the materials from what they dig up. This uses A LOT of energy. Globally, this year alone, we’ve used well over 24 million terajoules of energy, which is enough to supply 80% of the world’s electricity needs for that time period. And of that energy, about 65-80% can be attributed to the crushing and grinding of those materials. So, it is great to hear about companies such as Kumba Iron Ore, Arm Ferrous, BHP Billiton and De Beers (to name a few) implementing energy efficient crushers, manufactured by IMS Engineering, which can lead to energy savings of about 30%. Good work, mining companies!
Who’s up next? That would be you, Forestry Industry. I’ve got to hand it to them too. The American Forest and Paper Association has taken steps to increase their energy efficiency and conservation by implementing the methodology that the US Department of Energy has laid out. The AF&PA has already reduced their overall energy use (per ton of production) at their facilities by 8.2%, and their fossil fuel (per ton of production) is down by a very respectable 26%. Round of applause.
How about oil? Everyone loves to point their fingers at the oil companies – they can be easy targets to scream and shout about. However, all that noise tends to drown out news of the good endeavours for which these powerful companies can use their superpowers. Saudi Aramco, for instance, is implementing an energy efficiency solution to save energy on the air conditioning in their facilities using Smartcool’s ESM™ technology. Did I mention that Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil company by crude oil production and exports, and natural gas liquids exports? Yes, folks – that big, powerful oil company is taking steps towards energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction.
After carefully testing Smartcool’s technology on an air conditioning chiller in one of their commercial buildings, Saudi Aramco found that the ESM™ delivered annual energy savings of 65,883 kWh and a return on investment in 17 months. Significant energy savings and CO2 emission reductions will result from Saudi Aramco’s plan to install Smartcool’s technology on a number of other units in Aramco’s Dhahran Community.
A large, commercial building, such as the office buildings and other facilities essential to running the largest oil company in the world, may run anywhere from two to four of these huge air conditioning units. In a deadly hot climate like Saudi Arabia’s, with average summer temperatures of 45°C or 113° F (or up to 54°C or 129° F!!), one can only imagine how much energy is gobbled up by the air conditioning in those buildings. Making these air conditioning systems more energy efficient is an important step in making the operations of any business just a shade greener.
This sets a great example for other powerful businesses – especially considering the sector within which Saudi Aramco exists (hello, fossil fuels!). As is mentioned above, oil companies are not necessarily aligned with green initiatives as frequently, nor as publically, as we all might wish they were. Encouraging these important efforts and making them well known can begin to set precedents for other powerful businesses to follow. Tip of the hat to you, Saudi Aramco!
So, there you have it. A few big companies using their superpowers for good! Yes, there is a long way to go yet and that journey may seem daunting and overwhelming. We could all wish for that journey to go faster in huge leaps and bounds, but credit should be given where it’s due. Baby steps in the right direction – you all get a gold star.
Now, who’s with me regarding the lotto numbers?
