While last month saw the city of Glasgow successfully host the historic COP26 climate change summit, Rokbak, a Volvo CE brand based in neighbouring Motherwell, has been helping lead the charge toward a more sustainable future.
Reducing its environmental impact is one of the pillars of the Rokbak brand, which buoyed by the support of its parent company, Volvo Group, has sought to make major reductions in its carbon emissions, as well as slashing energy and material use at its plant in Motherwell.
Speaking at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland’s ‘Manufacturing a Net-Zero Future’ conference in November, Rokbak managing director, Paul Douglas, emphasised the responsibility of industry to create more sustainable factory operations.
Douglas also highlighted the need for collaboration and partnerships to help facilitate the drive toward net-zero, discussing how Rokbak has worked closely with its suppliers and clients in order to make a real difference.
Back in 2019, Rokbak took its first major step toward slashing emissions by switching its plant to a green electricity tariff. The contract includes a Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin [REGO] certificate, ensuring that all electricity delivered to the site comes from renewable sources.
The move is anticipated to reduce the plant’s carbon footprint by 900 tonnes per year.
54 submeters have also been installed across the site to give greater visibility over electricity use and empower teams to drive their own efficiencies. Operational since the end of October, they provide the operations team at the plant with key insights into where electricity is used and how targeted action can be taken towards reducing unnecessary consumption.
The next mission for the Motherwell site is to crack down on its natural gas consumption, which is primarily used for space heating. Rokbak’s admin building and several other annexes have already switched to electric heating and cooling from gas, while other areas of the facility are scheduled to transition from gas to electric next year.
These moves will only leave the factory and the warehouse with gas heating, and these facilities will be equipped with new roofing and insulating cladding.
Although this is a developing long-term initiative to reduce Rokbak’s carbon footprint, the plant has already made headway by implementing two measures in the factory and warehouse to reduce gas usage. Firstly, it has been compartmentalised into smaller working areas that are easier to heat and partitioned off by fire-retardant curtains, compared to its previous open plan layout.
Meawhile, the large, corrugated metal roller doors at the site are being replaced, with the new doors equipped with motion sensors so that they automatically move up and down to reduce heat loss. The previous doors had to be manually winched up, so were often left fully or partially open which allowed heat to escape.
Plans are also underway for the plant to enter a green gas contract. Green gas originates from landfill, food processing or composting sites, and although it is difficult to quantify the exact carbon reduction to come from this move, it represents a significant step toward more eco-friendly operation.
The plant is also close to securing a deal to replace all its forklift trucks with an electric fleet, which will cut down on 75 tonnes of carbon per year.
The Rokbak site has also made major strides in reducing material waste, with the site practically landfill free and soon to enter the process of acquiring Volvo Group certification that a minimum 95 per cent of waste is diverted from landfill.
Steel and wood materials going through the site are all recycled, while food waste proceeds to composting.
Meanwhile, Rokbak has been in talks with suppliers to reduce its consumables, with requests made for goods to be shipped in on reusable stillages rather than wooden pallets. The business has also asked for oils and lubricants to be shipped in larger containers that can be refilled or repurposed.
Rokbak’s work on the ground to slash its carbon output forms part of Volvo Group’s wider environmental commitment. In November of last year, the Swedish automotive giant became one of the first big equipment manufacturers to commit to Science Based Targets for reducing emissions. Volvo’s pledges include bringing operating emissions down by 50 per cent by the end of the decade, and to achieve net-zero by 2040, ten years ahead of UK government targets.
Volvo Group president Martin Lundstedt attended the COP26 summit last month as a member of the Swedish presidential mission. All the group’s brands, including Rokbak, are keen to see significant progress in reducing emissions following the conference and will strive to achieve Volvo’s ambitious targets.
Karen Anne Duffy, HSE and sustainability manager at the Rokbak plant in Motherwell, commented: “The targets we have set ourselves at Rokbak and Volvo Group are tough, but I believe they are achievable. Volvo has shown its willingness to invest, and our staff and customers are also keen to do their bit.”
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
