The Road To Energy Efficiency
WBB Minerals have taken some major strides over the past 20 months in driving down their energy consumption. Last year they succeeded in reducing CO2 emissions by 2,500 tonnes and in doing so became the first company in the quarrying sector to gain Energy Efficiency Accreditation from the National Energy Foundation. But it has not all been plain sailing, as Rob Sproston, marketing and communications manager for WBB Minerals, explains.
Towards the end of 2002, Wilson Brown, UK managing director of WBB Minerals Group, laid down a resolute challenge for his team to reduce energy consumption by 3% across all UK operations. This goal was achieved within 12 months through an energy-saving campaign that succeeded in engaging every part of the company. But WBB Minerals are determined that energy efficiency will become an integral and sustainable element of their business culture and not simply a short-lived campaign. Their experiences to date have proved that this is far from easy, but the progress made in a relatively short period of time has provided the impetus and motivation to continue for the long haul.
The drivers
‘Obviously there are a number of drivers behind energy efficiency for businesses today,’ explains Keith Wilkes, WBB Minerals’ technical support director and the man charged with leading the energy-reduction initiative. ‘The clear and most tangible benefit is the cost reductions achievable. We have found that some of these can be gained relatively quickly and cheaply while others require a more considered approach and long-term investment decisions must be made. For us there is a clear business case to drive down energy costs and the fiercely competitive nature of our markets dictates that this will always be the case.
‘The other key driver is environmental responsibility. This is something we have always taken very seriously at a local level, our current Biodiversity Action Plan being a prime example. Our energy-saving campaign, however, takes a national perspective and allows WBB Minerals as a company to make a much wider contribution.
‘We have found the environment to be the main driver for most of our staff and it has been the motivating force behind the vast majority of ideas generated. As such, the messages we have used to communicate the campaign internally have focused very much on the environmental benefits ahead of the commercial gains.’
The strategy
WBB Minerals’ energy campaign was officially launched at the start of 2003 with the objective of reducing CO2 emissions by 2,500 tonnes before the end of the year. Three regional teams together with a team looking at transport were set up and tasked with identifying potential energy savings in their respective areas. Another group was formed to identify savings around the company’s head office complex in Cheshire. The teams were empowered and encouraged to engage all staff (and their families) in the generation of ideas. WBB Minerals supported this with humorous poster campaigns, competitions and regular updates via the company newsletter. The campaign was not just confined to the workplace — in association with the Government-funded Energy Saving Trust, the company also encouraged staff to undertake ‘DIY home energy checks’ to identify savings around the house.
‘We realized from the start that the reduction target we had set ourselves would be entirely unrealistic without the buy-in of all staff,’ says Mr Wilkes. ‘To do this we needed to win hearts and minds and genuinely convince people of the benefits. Consequently, energy-saving ideas came from every corner of the business and ranged in complexity from simply turning off lights and computers when not in use through to changes to the more complex operational procedures with huge savings potential. We are working on the philosophy that every little helps and this is paying dividends in that we are already seeing a significant cultural change throughout the company.’
The success of the campaign ensured that WBB Minerals achieved their 3% CO2 reduction target and in doing so became the first company in the quarrying sector to gain Energy Efficiency Accreditation (EEA) from the National Energy Foundation. The EEA process helps organizations focus carefully on all aspects of energy management. It is an independent assessment of an organization’s energy-management credentials and there are currently only some 200 organizations in the UK holding this award.
‘WBB Minerals are showing great imagination and thoroughness in the way that energy management is tackled,’ says Alan Williams, the independent assessor assigned by the National Energy Foundation to help in the accreditation process. ‘I am particularly impressed by the way that staff at all levels are involved and that the difficult problem of promoting energy efficiency in transport (30% of the company’s energy bill) is being tackled head on. WBB Minerals are the first company in the UK to feature the Energy Efficiency Accreditation logo on their vehicle fleet and I am looking forward to identifying developments in their campaign by the time re-accreditation becomes due in 2006.’
The Carbon Trust
In April 2003 WBB Minerals approached the Carbon Trust, a government-funded independent company that works with businesses across all industry sectors in cutting carbon emissions. The two subsequently entered into a partnership agreement which could last for up to three years, during which time the Carbon Trust will provide free technical training and advice via specialist consultants.
The initial work of the partnership has focused on WBB Minerals’ Oakamoor sand quarry in Staffordshire, a highly complex operational site with an annual energy spend in excess of £1 million. Surveys to date have identified huge savings potential and WBB Minerals are currently in the process of weighing up the commercial case to take these forward. In parallel with the Oakamoor project, the Carbon Trust has also focused on optimizing the efficiency of the dryer operation at WBB Minerals’ Leighton Buzzard site with a view to eventually rolling out best-practice guidelines across all of the company’s UK quarries.
Ian Sibbick, north-west regional manager for the Carbon Trust, explains: ‘We work alongside companies to provide guidance and targeted help on saving energy. This ranges from raising staff awareness of the issue through to sophisticated process improvement and optimization. We have worked with WBB Minerals to produce an action plan to help prioritize energy-saving measures and have identified the mineral-drying process as an area of high potential savings. The quarrying sector in general needs to look more closely at how its processes work, to consider process integration and heat recovery and the installation of effective energy-management systems.’
The savings
The campaign has seen the realization of savings in many different forms. One of the simplest and yet most effective came via an employee at the company’s kaolin operation in Devon who identified the huge potential of a straightforward modification to the sand plant press modules. The addition of trays now prevents water saturating the press cakes before entering the dryer, thus reducing the amount of gas required to dry the clay to the required moisture content. The cost of installing the trays was just £285 and subsequent savings are in the region of £11,000 a year.
At the other extreme, many hours of teamwork went into improving the efficiency of a fluid-bed dryer at WBB Minerals’ Congleton operation in Cheshire. A study involving all operators was undertaken to look at the parameters of the dryer and assess the performance characteristics of its fans and motors. It became apparent that considerable improvements could be made through the installation of variable-speed drive equipment to the motors. Inverters were subsequently installed on both the cooler and dryer fan motors resulting in an energy reduction of 42kW and a forecast annual cost saving of around £7,500.
‘The dryer operators have really taken on board the changes we have made to the plant and without their help these savings could not be achieved,’ comments WBB Minerals’ Cheshire operations manager, Rob Davenport. ‘The operators have constantly monitored the set points and really fine-tuned the way the plant now operates.’
Maintaining the momentum
Following on from the success of 2003, WBB Minerals set themselves an increased target of a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions in 2004. This is proving tough but the results to date are encouraging. ‘Towards the end of our 2003 campaign the ideas had started to dry up and we realized that the whole thing had been very much management-led,’ explains Keith Wilkes. ‘What we have done in 2004 is turn that on its head and set up new teams led by operations managers and works engineers. We hope that this will provide a fresh impetus and kick-start new ideas. But you have to realize that an energy-efficient business is not created overnight. This is an ongoing and very gradual process both from an operational and cultural perspective. We have achieved a lot in a short space of time but we are still on a very steep learning curve.’
Ian Sibbick of the Carbon Trust continues: ‘We have been greatly encouraged by the time, effort and investment that has been channelled into improving energy efficiency at WBB Minerals’ quarries. Although there is still much to be done, the management understand that the process of improvement is a continual one. WBB Minerals are prepared to consider any energy-reduction measures that make a viable business case and the commitment to integrating energy efficiency into their business culture is promising for the future.’
The future
Like all companies in the quarrying sector today, WBB Minerals are faced with a constantly changing business landscape driven largely by globalization and increasingly competitive markets. They are also coming to terms with massive hikes in energy prices and mounting legislative pressures to reduce emissions. The progress made to date is a clear indication that WBB Minerals are responding positively to these challenges by placing energy saving at the very heart of their business strategy.