Industry needs to expand resource efficiency areas

15th August 2014

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

  

Font size: - +

Although there is significant focus currently on energy efficiency in industry, there is an increasing need for industry to expand its participation in the green space beyond just energy, government programme National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA) tells Engineering News.

The NCPC-SA, hosted by the Council for Science and Industrial Research on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), promotes the implementation of resource efficiency and cleaner production (RECP) methods to assist industry in lowering costs through reduced energy, water and materials use, and better waste management.

“Industry is showing increased motivation to implement the resource efficiency methods promoted by the NCPC-SA in the sphere of energy, but this is largely driven by the increase in energy costs since 2009,” says NCPC-SA director Ndivhuho Raphulu.

He notes that 45 company plants participating in the NCPC-SA’s Industrial Energy Efficiency (IEE) Project, which focuses only on industrial energy efficiency, have implemented changes that have resulted in a collective cost saving on energy of over 570 GWh, equivalent to R344-million.

While industry’s implementations, as part of the NCPC-SA’s broader RECP assessments, have over the last two years resulted in actual savings of R33-million, of which 87% were energy- related, only 6% of the savings were from input materials and 5.5% were from water.

In addition, the NCPC-SA’s assessments of 2013/14 identified similar patterns emerging in the potential savings, which they acted on by making recommendations to industry to implement, Raphulu says.

He notes that the NCPC-SA specialists identified R125.7-million of potential savings in energy, water, waste and materials. Of these, R110.7-million, or 88%, were in energy, while 1.3% of the potential savings were identified in waste and 7.3% in water.

“It would appear that the pressures of the energy crisis and the resulting increased expertise developed in energy efficiency are paying off in terms of energy savings, but with a looming water crisis and the increasing need to reduce waste on all fronts, industry needs to embrace the idea of resource efficiency and cleaner production in other thematic areas, such as water and waste.”

In light of this, the NCPC-SA will address resource efficiency in water and waste in the short to medium term and will initiate a national industrial symbiosis programme (ISP) during the 2014/15 financial year to encourage waste exchange, Raphulu says.

The national project, which will begin in Gauteng, will build on the successes and draw on the lessons of two pilot ISP projects, implemented by the regional authorities in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, with support from the NCPC-SA.

“Further, the NCPC-SA has also started training consultants in the area of water footprinting and intends to build on this to increase local capacity and skills in life-cycle management,” Raphulu says, adding that the centre will also provide training in broader RECP requirements for new consultants, most of whom currently focus on energy.

Industry Assistance
Raphulu highlights that there has been significant interest from local industry in the RECP assessments and an increase in the demand for these assessments, as the NCPC-SA undertook a record 195 RECP assessments last financial year and has received interest from more than 50 companies to date this year. For the first time, companies are approaching the NCPC-SA and requesting assessments, rather than being recruited by the centre, he notes.

The RECP assessments enable the NCPC-SA to provide recommendations to companies that can assist them in becoming environmentally responsible, productive, low-carbon emitting and competitive businesses.

Further, Raphulu expects a significant amount in savings to be reported in the next two years as a result of the assessments, as companies start to implement more resource efficiency methods and technologies.

Nevertheless, many companies do not implement the resource efficiency recommendations after the RECP assessments, owing to financial, capacity and knowledge constraints, the NCPC-SA notes.

“Consequently, much needs to be done to move industry to action and the NCPC-SA’s focus is to partner with industry and companies to assist them in the implementation phases,” Raphulu says, adding that the centre will focus on monitoring and evaluation of industry’s implementations.

The NCPC-SA can assist in facilitating the RECP assessments and in implementing energy savings through the IEE Project. It can also provide interns through its national Internship Programme to companies to assist in implementing RECP assessment recommendations, Raphulu says.

The Internship Programme is a capacity building project aimed at equipping young graduates with greener production skills and experience to contribute to industrial sustainability. It places engineering graduates in companies to evaluate and monitor energy, water and material usage as well as waste management, while being mentored by industry experts, according to NCPC-SA’s website.

The centre can also help with applications for the Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP), a DTI initiative that can fund green technology initiatives, green sustainable development activities and feasibility studies for these technologies.

“MCEP can fund many adaptations to the manufacturing process that will enhance competitiveness; becoming more competitive is also to go green,” Raphulu says.

He concludes by stating that, while the NCPC-SA aims to conduct at least 180 RECP assessments a year, the centre would rather conduct 20 assessments with 20 companies that result in change and resource efficiency, than, for example, conducting 120 assessments that do not result in any implementation.

“Resource efficiency is about qualitative change. It is about the real impact on industry and getting industry to operate differently. Green industry is no longer just a discussion topic or a vision, it is a reality, a part of business, and should become the norm,” Raphulu says.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION