Energy & Carbon
Net Zero Energy
During 2011, the Group embarked on its own Net Zero Initiative, which in essence aims to have all facilities running on entirely renewable power by 2020.
Good progress was made in 2012 resulting in renewable energy use at circa 10% with plans in place to achieve the interim target of 50% in 2016 and 100% in 2020. Kingspan’s progress in achieving targets will be reported annually through the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Improving energy efficiency across all Group operations is a key element of the strategy to achieve net zero. On 28 November 2012 Kingspan announced a partnership with SDCL (Sustainable Development Capital Limited) and Johnson Controls to deliver energy efficiency solutions for the UK manufacturing sites. This is a funded solution through SDCL and the UK Green Investment Bank with plans to reduce energy use at the Holywell Insulated Panel plant by over 1.1GWh per annum, with similar projects in the pipeline for other sites.
In relation to the Holywell project Shaun Kingsbury, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Green Investment Bank said: “This project represents a significant development in the energy efficiency market. Energy efficiency improvement should be one of the most compelling investments companies can make. I hope that the example set by Kingspan, SDCL and Johnson Controls can be followed across the UK both to reduce wasteful consumption of energy and to save businesses money”.
The Group Head Office in Ireland achieved Net Zero during 2012 with a 132kWp solar power installation. Other sizeable projects include a 406kWp solar PV array at the Holywell Insulated Panels site, a 799kWp array at the Pembridge Insulation Boards site, a 200kWp array at the Access Floors site in Hull and a 171kWp array at the Basildon site of Kingspan Renewables. In total these installations generated 1,131,567kWh of electricity in 2012.
Further large scale renewable energy projects planned over the next couple of years include a 5 megawatt wind installation at Holywell (subject to planning permission) and a Biogas CHP (Combined Heat & Power) facility at Pembridge. A number of other site specific renewable energy projects are being investigated.
In 2012, Kingspan Insulated Panels in the UK became the first manufacturer of insulated metal cladding systems to be certified to the prestigious Carbon Trust Standard in recognition of the company being at the forefront of industry initiatives to minimise carbon emissions and energy usage. The Carbon Trust Standard is designed to provide a robust, objective analysis of a company’s carbon performance over a number of years. Organisations must be able to display both annual reductions in energy usage over a period of three years and prove that they have the necessary management procedures, plans and targets to continue to achieve further year-on-year carbon reductions in the future.