Robinson Brothers Ltd has recently featured in the Chemical Industries Association [CIA] and ITN Productions programme, Our Route to Net Zero, which explores the sustainability initiatives being implemented at the chemical manufacturer.
Adrian Hanrahan, managing director at West Midlands based Robinson Brothers, stressed how the business is committed to achieving net zero goals in chemical manufacturing, with energy efficiency having been a core objective for the firm for many years.
Hanrahan said: “It is vital for us to preserve this world for the generations ahead. We have spent several years monitoring and assessing our operations to make improvements in efficiencies and energy reduction. Simple changes like reducing, replacing or entirely removing solvents from our processes would have a positive nudge towards our net zero goals.”
Of course, achieving net zero requires multi-disciplinary action and a culture of continuous improvement of environmental policy within the business. To help facilitate this, process improvement groups at Robinson Brothers regularly review the manufacturing processes behind the scenes to identify further opportunities for solvent recycling and/or reduction of usage. The company’s bespoke thermal oxidiser consumes waste solvents to generate steam used in manufacturing processes. This reduces the volume of gas consumed and reduces the company’s carbon footprint. Most packaging where appropriate is also reused, which further adds to carbon footprint reduction.
Stephen Elliott, the chief executive at the Chemical Industries Association [CIA] commented: “The chemical sector and innovations in chemistry are at the heart of providing real solutions to combat climate change, so we are pleased to again have the opportunity to showcase some of the important initiatives our industry is undertaking. Now, more than ever is the time to be focusing on net zero because society increasingly and rightly expects it and we as a sector want to meet that expectation, to deliver a more sustainable future for everyone”.
For the industry and indeed for all sectors, achieving net zero will be no simple task. Robinson Brothers is currently grappling with the challenge of balancing energy efficiency against its technical operations and the financial investment required to continue running the business.
The firm has been vocal in urging government to support the cost and infrastructure of moving toward green manufacturing techniques and cleaner energy. Its senior leadership believes that state support and funding streams would enable manufacturers such as themselves to transition to low-carbon operations and become fit for the green economy of the future.
Photo by Alex Kondratiev on Unsplash
