Three Things You Could Do Now to Start Impacting Your Facility’s CO2 Emissions
The EPA estimates that, since 1970, the US alone has seen a 90% increase in carbon emissions, with the Electricity/Heat Production and the Industrial segments being responsible for a combined 46% of those emissions. Meanwhile, parts of Europe have already begun enacting policies to decrease emissions, but the damage to our environment is still quickly reaching critical mass.
The industrial sector is standing at a precipice over which significant environmental damage is a very present and threatening reality.
What do we do, those of us in manufacturing or energy production? How can the heavy industrial world reduce our carbon emissions?
The answer is simpler than you might think and also more cost effective for your bottom line.
Companies like D.S. Smith, Ford, and Rubis Terminal have developed dedicated sustainability-focused teams to ensure that they are or soon will be carbon neutral by using environmentally friendly components, lowering overall energy consumption in their facilities through links like automation and LED lighting, and giving back to the environment through various programs.
Still, we understand that many companies have yet to or do not have the resources to make a brand new sustainability team. Below are 3 suggestions that you could implement today with your existing team to move toward a more carbon-friendly facility.
- Re-evaluate any new construction and/or updates you are making at your plants. This is a great time to look your electrical efficiency plan, especially your lighting. Installing high quality LED lighting can increase your efficiency and lower your lighting related energy bill by nearly 80% [link to savings page]. That means less draw on power and ultimately, fewer emissions.
- Consider including your lighting in your automation plans. If you are a company who is planning to upgrade to or already has a factory automation system in place, consider including your lighting in the system. Dialight’s IntelliLED lighting controls seamlessly integrate with Rockwell Automation and other factory automation platforms. Lighting automation systems provide even greater control over on/off, dimming, daylight harvesting, occupancy sensors and more. IntelliLED lighting controls also comply with California’s Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency standards.
- Make lighting a part of your EH&S initiatives. If you know that your legacy lighting is a huge drain on your power consumption but you cannot get a budget allocated based simply on the costs savings, remember that it’s also a critical health and safety issue. Risk of accidents can be reduced by as much as 60% with clear illumination, like LED lighting.[Link back to Safety Page]
In addition to these facility focused tips, you could consider an increased work-from-home policy for non-essential staff. According to the EPA, global transportation accounts for more than 25% of all carbon emissions. That means your company’s business travel and employee commutes could make your organization directly responsible for that yearly increase in transportation emissions. Now is a great time to evaluate your travel policies, especially for out-of-state staff, and determining how efficient your office staff can be remotely.
For more information about how Dialight industrial LED lighting can contribute to your sustainability goals, check out our Sustainability page [hyperlink to page] or read the below case studies to see how much our customers were able to lower their energy bills.
To learn more about Dialight’s lighting controls, visit our IntelliLED page.
If you’d like to hear from Dialight to receive your own free lighting audit today, fill out the form below.