This post continues our mini-series Learning from the Big - interviews with energy managers of big manufacturers with operations in Ontario, Canada. I spoke with Andrew Hejnar, Energy Manager at 3M Canada. What is the history of energy efficiency at 3M? First Energy Group at 3M (USA) was formed in 1974, by the mid-70s a position of [...]
Through my continuous networking, I am privileged to meet people dealing with energy efficiency. With this post I am starting a series titled Learning from the Big. Though we target mid-sized companies, experience from market leaders can help us and our clients. My first source of conservation experience – Atlantic Packaging – provides a total packaging solution [...]
The business value of an energy management project commonly exceeds direct savings. Aside from this fact, do most managers actually know the amount of direct savings achieved through their energy management projects? A recent report produced by The Ethical Corporation, UK offers a comprehensive picture of how organizations around the world are approaching sustainability. This research report, [...]
Starbucks is looking for a savior. Starbucks is having trouble meeting its goal to reduce energy use by 25 percent by 2015, according to its recently issued annual sustainability report. Last year, the company improved its energy performance only 4.6 percent over its 2008 baseline, using 6.49 kWh/square foot per store in the U.S. and [...]
At a recent project, we worked with an industrial bakery that faced a minor increase in natural gas consumption at its oven. Through an analysis of consumption/production data and discussions with the client, we found that the waste was caused by a faulty temperature-sensor calibration. The sensor was adjusted, and consumption came back to expected [...]
Waste of energy, as painful as it is by itself, is often a symptom of lost sales, under utilization of production capacity and other lost opportunities. Some time ago I participated in a walk through energy audit of a commercial bakery. Plant manager was interested in saving energy, but not as much as in opportunities to [...]
Flip a switch or a flip bird? Numerous studies show that simple changes in employee behaviour may save up to 10% in energy costs with no capital costs. The common issue is that it’s difficult to initiate behavioural changes and it’s definitely very difficult to sustain them. Here comes the most puzzling part: some companies [...]
A surface-level answer is simple: divide direct costs by kilogram or by dozen, whichever is your favourite measure of production. Done. Done? Using the resulting number for costing new orders may lead to painful losses. Remember Titanic? With its stern high up and its prow deep low, on average titanic was still floating alright. Using [...]
In many companies Q3 is budgeting season. It’s a good time to plan energy saving activities for the next year. Any work requires budget, so funds have to be requested to be approved in time. Or not. In Ontario manufacturing companies do not have to spend a penny to get started with energy saving projects. [...]
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a friendly manufacturing company had to resign. He did not mess up his taxes. He did not miss a profitability goal. He was not hated by other executives for extravagant behaviors. Year after year, he just could not deliver a reliable cost forecast. His projections were not even consistently [...]
