Going green, eco-friendly and sustainability. You’ve probably heard these terms a lot in the last decade or so but what do they actually mean? Generally, they refer to the behaviour one takes to lessen their impact on the planet and when organisations take part a massive footprint can be reduced.
But outside of the benefits to our planet, how does this influence you and your refrigeration plant? What value can you extract from going green? Let’s find out.
Beyond an environmental movement, being sustainable has become a critical motive for organisations to stay relevant and competitive.
The landscape has changed and the mentality now has shifted to ‘how can I complete this job while reaching maximum efficiency and reliability?’
Additionally, other factors making green initiatives and increasing sustainability more popular are:
Consumer demand – as a green future becomes more and more of a movement customers are holding organisations accountable and therefore, embedding sustainability within your operations is a great way to stay relevant in your industry.
Increased productivity – going green can bring benefits beyond the environment and commonly creates a domino effect instilling wins throughout a plant’s operations.
Attracting talent – gaining more and more momentum, making this shift is likely to align with the values of future staff that you’re trying to employ.
Meeting regulations – the industrial landscape is ever-changing, regulations are in place to keep work across the board at a high standard and more environmentally friendly bars are being set.
What are the benefits?
Outside of benefits to the environment, going green and bettering your sustainability can create a positive chain reaction – some of these can be:
Benefits to operations
Sustainability and efficiency are often two things that go hand in hand.
Putting efforts towards boosting sustainability and going green can often have a positive chain reaction and can influence things like:
- Reduce service calls
- Boost reliability
- Improve efficiency
- Increase performance of older equipment
Skilled team
Often making the effort to action a more sustainable and efficient system can serve as a growth opportunity for employees. It’s a way to leverage new learnings and look through new perspectives to improve system operations.
Brand
People want to engage with an organisation that share similar values to themselves. So, promoting your genuine drive to make an environmental impact can have benefits to your brand and add value to your public image.
All sounds pretty great, right? But what are the steps to achieving this?
Three considerations to get the ball rolling
But how does this look practically? Taking this a step further, here are some tangible actions you can take amid starting your process:
- Update any old controls and equipment – this is a great initial way to increase efficiency
- Look to incorporate Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) – which regulates & controls the power that is fed to the motor
- Load shedding within the SCADA and PLC – this practice lowers your plant’s electrical consumption and heightens efficiency
- Switch out any old refrigerants for newer ones
- If you’re starting a new project, look to incorporate natural refrigerants
It’s important to know that there’s no one size fits all approach – to maximise your efforts and return a tailored plan is a sure-fire approach.
There’s no room for a cookie cutter approach. Each job brings a different circumstance, requirements, and solutions and it is critical to find and cater to the uniqueness of each project.
Sustainability and greener initiatives can be realistic expectations and can positively influence your plant. Get a tailored breakdown and see what we can do for you here.
