Energy Efficiency Day promotes sustainable energy practices across individuals, businesses, and communities. Corporate activities are estimated to account for around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring industries’ responsibility in leading a green energy transition. While offsetting emissions through carbon credits can benefit inevitable emissions, these should be considered a last resort after reduction and decarbonisation efforts have been exhausted. Prioritising efficiency and reducing energy consumption is essential for meeting emission targets, and companies must first decarbonise their operations and supply chains before turning to offsets.
We believe efficiency gains require identifying specific actions and, more importantly, integrating environmental goals into our corporate culture. Engaging employees through effective internal communication and anchoring a culture that fosters energy-saving behaviour is vital, involving all stakeholders.
Lean Manufacturing
As part of Energy Efficiency Day 2024, we are excited to share how Modulex has improved its energy efficiency. Firstly, our factory in Billund implements LEAN manufacturing, boosting efficiency and reducing energy use through better organisation and process re-design. Facility upgrades, such as LED activity-controlled lighting and increased maintenance, have also addressed energy inefficiencies, cutting consumption significantly. From a product standpoint, we prioritise using renewable, certified materials with lower carbon footprints. Moreover, with much of our workforce working remotely, commuting emissions are minimal, and our corporate culture emphasises energy efficiency through internal communication and reward systems that engage employees to drive energy-saving initiatives at every level.
CO2-Neutral Electricity
Since 2019, our Billund factory has been running on CO2-neutral electricity, while 92% of our manufacturing waste is either recycled or sent to Waste-to-Energy (W-t-E). Our achievements also include an 11% reduction in net electricity consumption and a 56% reduction in natural gas since 2019. In 2023, we moved to district heating for our building and production processes, powered 92% by renewables. We aim to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, with 2019 as our baseline.
CO2 Emissions Reduction
Between 2019 and 2023, we have achieved a 46% CO₂ emissions reduction, resulting in an 82% improvement in revenue generated per kilogram of CO₂ emitted. This indicates that we generate significantly more economic value while lowering our carbon footprint. Concerning electricity consumption, we have seen an efficiency gain of 10% since 2019. Moreover, natural gas consumption has seen an efficiency increase of 122% since 2019. This indicates an increase in business activity and turnover decoupled from our energy consumption and a significant drop in fossil fuel dependency.
As we celebrate the opportunity to inspire innovative energy-saving initiatives, we hope these will guide us towards a more sustainable future in production, consumption, and overall living.
Written by Yves Plazanet, Sustainability Analyst at Modulex Group.
