ThinkBrick Australia commissioned Energetics to undertake a full Life Cycle Assessment of the Australian clay brick industry. This involved collecting data directly from the industry on clay extraction, manufacturing processes, transport requirements, construction elements, and end-of-life disposal. They report that the embodied emissions of a typical Australian house represent only 11% of the total emissions over a 50-year life cycle, regardless of walling materials. See … [Read more...]
Amcor Fibre Packaging steam upgrade
Amcor Fibre Packaging upgraded the steam and boiler system at one plant resulting in energy and carbon savings. Amcor sourced some government funding to support the project and expects a 100% return of investment within a four year period. From this project they have achieved: about 412 tonnes of greenhouse gas abated 6% reduction in gas use. For more information about Amcor's sustainability initiatives see: www.amcor.com/sustainability … [Read more...]
MSA sustainability projects and reports
Research reports and updates on MSA projects and products to support sustainability skills development for the manufacturing sectors. See MSA sustainability sector page … [Read more...]
ALCOA Sustainability case studies
See what ALCOA has been doing for sustainability with case studies dating back to 2007. See http://www.alcoa.com/australia/en/info_page/sustain_home_cases.asp … [Read more...]
Orica Sustainability Report 2010
Orica Sustainability Report 2010 covers social, economic and environmental sustainability. It outlines Orica’s targets and performance in sustainability indicators such as: Community complaints Community engagement Human rights Labour practices Product stewardship Value chain The web site also provides a range of case studies on sustainability initiatives. See www.orica.com/sustainability … [Read more...]
BHP Billiton sustainability framework and reports
BHP Billiton outlines its approach to society, sustainability and climate change and provides downloads of sustainability reports. See http://www.bhpbilliton.com/society … [Read more...]
ABnote case study
ABnote identified several strategies to support sustainability in their facility design and management, providing energy and water savings of up to $22,000 at one plant. These included: Ensuring that evaporative air conditioning units are working properly Installing water-efficient fixtures in new plants Sensor systems for lighting and environmental controls Upgrading toilets to dual flush Installing rainwater tanks installed for non-drinking water use ‘Green teams’ doing audits to … [Read more...]
Oxford Cold Storage water capture initiative
Oxford Cold Storage uses 200 kilolitres of water every day for their evaporative cooling systems. With concerns about long term water supply and threat of price increases they applied for funding from the Australian Industry Group for a feasibility study to ascertain how water could be sourced from roofs and plant buildings. The study showed that 62% of potable water needs could be met by capturing water from the two roof areas (based on average yearly rainfall) saving almost $26,000 in … [Read more...]
Greenhouse gas (GHG)
Greenhouse gases refers to the six that are rated under the Kyoto Protocol as having Global Warming Potential (GWP): Carbon dioxide (CO2) Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) GHG emissions are reported as million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2-e) … [Read more...]
Toyota water savings
Toyota Motor Company Australia has implemented a 5 year plan to reduce water consumption by 25% per vehicle produced. The first step was a water footprint assessment to identify and measure current water use and waste water discharges. See http://www.aigroup.com.au/environment/casestudies/ … [Read more...]
