Promoting Resource Efficiency in Small & Medium size ... - UNEP

1,2
1
0,8
0,6
Specific water consumption [m 3 /m 2 ]
Ecoprofit
Environmental
management
Figure 22: Development of the
specific water consumption at
Anodisieranstalt Heuberger
0,4
0,2
0
1996 1997 1998 1999
Year
Zero emission
- research project
2000 2001 2002 2003
the environmental, quality, and health and safety departments and all
the working areas in the company. During their meetings, the progress
of the programmed activities and problems was discussed, regardless
of the department they arose in. The experience with focused teamwork
improved communication inside the company significantly.
In the meetings, the following topics were discussed:
• Progress of the company’s RE programme
• Overview of new developments
• Current problems
• Compliance with existing regulations
• Training needs
• Discussion of current indicators of consumption of materials
and energy
• Ideas for improvement
The documentation of the management system was kept as brief and
concise as possible. The meetings were documented and minutes
distributed to all employees to inform them about the results of
discussions and measures taken. Current problems and solutions
were noted on special forms then printed on red paper. Red paper was
chosen to make it clear that these were urgent documents requiring
quick discussions and adequate solutions. Additionally, there are
forms for auditing, for the control of water, energy and chemical
consumption, for the documentation of environmental effects and for
the environmental programme.
Checklists were developed for the key variables of the anodising
process, for adoption of orders and for purchasing. Plans were
developed for training and for maintenance.
The managing director paid particular attention to formulating an inspiring
company policy, discussing the formulations and their implications in a
number of meetings with his team: The guidelines are a testimony of the
commitment according to which the protection of the environment is an
essential part of management that results in objectives and procedures
for everyone in the company. The guidelines were accepted very well and
the feedback from the employees was very positive, after they had been
amended by examples showing how they affect daily practise.
Each of the employees was trained in first aid. Since 1997, there
has been regular training regarding: the process, the physical and
chemical background, the handling of materials, reduction of the use
of chemicals as well as electronic data processing and personal skills
such as leadership and communication.
In spite of doubling its production the company reduced water
consumption by 60% between 1996 and 1999. This meant a cost
reduction of US$20,000. The reduction in the use of chemicals
(roughly 10%) meant cost reductions of US$2,000 and the reduction
of gas consumption (also 10%) yielded US$4,000 annually.
The company started to involve the suppliers in its optimisation
process. Step-by-step they were required to eliminate toxic additives
and colours containing heavy metals.
The clients were asked to supply the company with details on the
alloys and the auxiliary materials they used e.g. for turning and surface
conservation. Together they tried to eliminate auxiliary materials
which caused problems in the degreasing step at Anodisieranstalt A.
Heuberger GmbH.
The company was presented with the Austrian KNEWLEDGE (meaning
“new knowledge”) award in 2000 for the best training programme of an
Austrian small and medium sized enterprise, the ÖGUT award (Austrian
national award for environmental excellence) in 2000 for their results
in preventive environmental protection and the Styrian environmental
award in 2001 (from the regional government).
The members of the environmental team showed active involvement in
the meetings in the company by contributing many good and practical
ideas. Their efforts were rewarded with additional training seminars
and an invitation to the awarding ceremonies.
Today, the director is actively involved in presentations and conferences on
a regional and national level discussing his motivation and the sustainable
strategy of his company. He has initiated research programmes to help his
company to approach the goal of becoming a ‘zero emission company’,
as well as the development of sustainable new products and services, by
using his knowledge in consulting his clients to improve their products to
make them longer lasting or serving special requirements.
The combined approach was used to demonstrate the links between
health and safety, environmental and quality management and to define
a step by step strategy to help in understanding the ultimate goal of a
sustainable management approach.
Figure 22 shows the reduction of water consumption over the years 1997
to 2003. The impact participation in the regional Resource Efficiency
programme and introduction of an environmental management system
can clearly be identified. The continuous work on Resource Efficiency
reduced water consumption to 5%.
According to the owner, the success factors are: a clear and committed
policy; the integrated approach considering resource efficiency, health
and safety, and quality in combination; the detailed identification of
costs; and a dedicated continuous follow up.
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