News

The CO2 reductions continues

Grundfos must never ever emit more CO2 than in 2008. This is an ambitious target which, despite significant growth in production, we managed to achieve in 2010. New initiatives are in place to ensure that the Group stays on the right side of the 2008 level in years to come.

When, in 2010, the Grundfos companies experienced the greatest production volume ever, it was a great challenge to stay below the 2008 level for CO2 emissions. However, we did manage to stay two per cent below the 2008 level.

Action is required
Department Head, Karen Touborg underlines that the positive result is due to the synergy effect created by the companies’ awareness of climate challenge combined with an understanding of the necessity to do something here and now.

- The companies have been able to uncover the potential and implement a number of initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions, says Karen Touborg. She mentions one example where heating pumps were installed to recycle process energy, motors and pumps were exchanged and improvements were made to compressor and lighting plants.

Everybody must contribute
The 2011 CO2 reduction targets concentrate on the Group’s 17 largest production companies as they account for 88 per cent of the Group’s total CO2 emissions.

- In total, they need to reduce their CO2 emissions by an average of 5.3 per cent compared with 2008. But individual upper targets for CO2 emissions have been set for each of the 17 companies depending on their development stage and growth”, says Ms Touborg. She underlines that smaller production companies and sales companies must also continue to focus on initiatives to reduce CO2.

Future challenges
-There are still numerous opportunities that will lead to savings. But with time, it will become more expensive to invest in energy-saving initiatives. If we are to reach our target, it will not be enough to invest more energy in identifying energy savings”, says MsTouborg. She continues:

- We also have to look into the use of renewable energy which is CO2 neutral. In that connection we are also looking into the opportunities of compensating CO2 emissions”, says Ms Touborg, who does not wish to elaborate on this subject until a concrete decision has been made in July.

Facts:
Future Now Award generates results
Every year the Group’s CO2 emissions are reduced by 261 metric tons due to the initiatives that were awarded with the Future Now Award in 2009 and 2010.
The winning project in 2009 was about reducing the use of gas for a heating oven by heating it up by means of the air from a cooling system in a compressor.
The winners in 2010 managed to halve CO2 emissions from transport between Hungary and the UK by filling up the trucks.