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Our Focus: People, Planet, Profitability
FOSSIL FREE – MORE & MORE
A detailed carbon footprint evaluation of our operations will be done in 2022. We have already gained knowledge from our EPD work, and we can assume that one of the biggest parts of our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is formed in energy production, which we can to some extent minimise by making clever purchasing decisions. Most of our sites are already using renewable electricity and we strive to maximise that in coming years also in the joint purchases. Possibilities to minimise energy usage are related to insulation, low energy technology and closed circulation. We have succeeded in increasing the percentage of renewable energy in our operations in recent years; 73 % of the total energy and 79 % of the used electricity is fossil free renewable energy in our locations. This share has increased significantly, 12 %-units in the last two years.
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The second significant factor is fuels. The vehicles we use for internal and external deliveries are mostly powered by fossil fuels. Raw material deliveries make significant addition to total kilometres. We are already doing a mapping of the truck driving emissions and will focus on economical driving and idling minimisation in addition to the new motor technology (EURO 6). We will examine possibilities and advantages of fossil free fuels and hybrid cars. Green solutions are developing fast. For example, new green technology, namely electric cars, are already adopted in use in the Norwegian Consulting business.
WASTE REDUCTION HAS A MAJOR IMPACT
Waste management varies considerably from country to country and even in different areas within countries. Nevertheless, we have managed to sort most of our normal industrial waste material either into recycling or into energy recovery. To get even better results in waste recycling in the future, we must find out practical solutions especially for cardboard and plastic waste handling. To increase the amount of recycled waste, a test for recycling high quality plastic films from pallets packaging is noticed to be possible in practice.
As for the hazardous waste, it is important to look for alternative, non-hazardous raw materials or products. If hazardous chemicals are necessary for the process and cannot be replaced by other substances, it is important that they are fully utilised in the processes, and that no residues but only the empty packaging will remain as waste. Due to the nature of explosives, the products have no waste impacts after the detonation has materialised and explosion gases are formed, and that leads to some benefits in further life cycle assessment (LCA). Increasing focus must be set on explosive and intermediate product waste (such as matrix waste) minimising, as these form the biggest part of our waste and there is currently no other handling possibilities than open burning.
R&D SUPPORTS US IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTION
In addition to our own production the focus will also be on the customers’ side. Successful R&D work with nitrogen free emulsion will help our customers and bring new benefits especially for the mining business. A Forcit development project related to nitrogen free emulsion has already been widely noticed and will directly affect mine water emissions. Strong investments in ICT solutions for blast optimisation increase the effectiveness and minimise the loss of explosives to blasted rock and the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF THE BLASTS
Consulting business – the whole business is largely focused on protecting people and property, in addition to environmental impact management and minimisation. Consulting business offers training, consulting, and measurement services to various blasting- and excavation -related projects. It consults mining, construction, and infrastructural sites to keep their operations safe and environmentally
New green technology, namely electric cars, are already adopted in use in the Norwegian Consulting business.
friendly but still efficient. With the industry’s widest portfolio of experts, services and state of the art instruments for measuring vibration, noise, dust and other impacts originating from blasting and excavation, the consulting business unit assists builders, contractors, mines and also permit granting authorities in all sizes of projects and challenges.
As the biggest player in the Nordics, we have a genuine opportunity to influence and show the new normal way and best practises of running the businesses.
Raw materials and our own products are transported by third parties for over 2,5 million kilometres in a year. Approximately 80 % of these transportations are road transportations. The calculation is based on only one-direction routes.
ECONOMICAL DRIVING
Economical driving is an easy and effective way to decrease emissions and increase profitability. As a pilot we have been monitoring a few vehicles in detail and therefore have good insights on how to improve our results. The results clearly show the effectiveness of delivering maximum loads. Monitoring also revealed opportunities to decrease our emissions by focusing on idling times and maximum speed. Idling and cold starts in wintertime increase overall exhaust gas emissions and fuel consumption.
Diagrams clearly show the difference between motor standard EURO 5-6 and older motor technologies. Every renewed truck certainly reduces emissions. Increasing the size of deliveries and thus reducing the driven kilometers also cuts down CO2 emissions for delivered tons. In our measurements with Volvo Dynafleet, we noticed that when the average size of Kemiitti delivery increased by 30 %, the CO2 emission decreased by 1.5 tons in a year.
CASE EXAMPLE
30 tons of CO2/1,000 tons of Kemiitti, when delivery size is over 10 tons
