One of Kingspan’s UK sites, Kingspan Water and Energy Limited, is based in Aston Clinton, near Aylesbury. The business manufactures a number of products such as glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and plastic waste water treatment solutions, used in both domestic and large commercial buildings. With large amounts of energy required, the business is committed to exploring how it can make its operations as sustainable as possible.
In 2019, this commitment saw Kingspan launch its Planet Passionate sustainability strategy, an industry-leading decarbonisation programme with a goal to halve carbon intensity in Kingspan’s primary supply chain, and to reduce its carbon emissions to as close to zero as technically possible.
One pillar of Planet Passionate has even seen Kingspan pledge that 60% of all energy used will come from direct renewable energy sources by 2030. As a result, the business was keen to work with Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of LPG and BioLPG, to reduce the carbon emissions from its energy source.
Joseph Douras, Operations Manager at Kingspan Water and Energy Limited, is responsible for all aspects of onsite operations and manufacturing at Aston Clinton. He said: “At our Aston Clinton site, we’ve historically used LPG for commercial heating. However, with a commitment to reach net-zero manufacturing by 2030 in mind, we were keen to understand how we could make our operations more sustainable. Having spoken with Calor, they were able to clearly demonstrate the sustainability credentials of its BioLPG solution alongside the carbon savings we could expect to make as a business.”
A simple switch
As a business, Kingspan Water and Energy Limited was using 150 tonnes of commercial LPG annually, with four storage tanks located onsite. These storage tanks are directly linked to the LPG heating system and the heat produced here is distributed across both buildings at the Aston Clinton site.
Working together with Calor Ireland, Calor UK was able to demonstrate to Kingspan that no change was needed to any of the manufacturer’s existing Calor LPG infrastructure or equipment. This made the move quick and simple. “Once we’d decided to make the switch, the rest was easy because BioLPG is a drop-in fuel for commercial LPG,” says Joseph Douras. “There was no need for any new equipment, and more importantly there was no interruption to our production either.”
Produced in the same British Standard accreditation as conventional LPG, Calor’s BioLPG is chemically identical to conventional LPG. This is why Kingspan Water and Energy Limited has not had to make any alterations to its existing set up and infrastructure, including its onsite tanks and pipework, meaning there has been zero disruption to the business following the switch to BioLPG.
In addition, thanks to our Auto-ordering system, we’ve been able to remotely monitor Kingspan Water and Energy Limited’s BioLPG levels and automatically schedule deliveries as soon as levels start to get low, all supported by our large delivery network.
Although the project is currently only at market testing stages, the switch to Calor BioLPG will make a substantial contribution towards Kingspan’s goal of cutting emissions from manufacturing, as Calor BioLPG, offers up to 80% lower emissions than existing LPG products[1].
Adrian Heath, Business Development Manager at Calor, has supported Kingspan Water and Energy Limited throughout its transition to BioLPG. He said: “Sustainability is high on the agenda for the UK’s manufacturers, with many now turning their attention to the fuel source used. When Kingspan Water and Energy Limited first came to us and explained more about its long-term business goals to become carbon neutral, we were keen to explore how we could support them with our BioLPG. Having worked alongside Kingspan Water and Energy Limited to help the business realise its goal of reducing its carbon emissions with BioLPG, we’re confident that we’ll be able to support more of the UK’s manufacturing businesses also make the transition in the future.”
A sustainable future
Looking ahead, Kingspan Water and Energy Limited has plans to invest in further sustainable energy solutions across its site.
In fact, Kingspan recently published its inaugural “Planet Passionate” Sustainability Report, reviewing the first year of progress in the 10-year strategy it launched in December 2019. In 2020 Kingspan reduced emissions from operations by 5.2%, a first step towards net zero carbon manufacturing by 2030 with the intention of reducing absolute emissions to the lowest possible level.
To further support this we’ve also been able to provide Kingspan Water and Energy Limited with ‘Green Gas Credits’. The third party Green Gas Certification Scheme ensures traceability of all green gas delivered to, and used up by Kingspan Water and Energy Limited, while also highlighting the amount of CO2 saved by the business.
Aidan Roberts, Divisional Risk Director at Kingspan Water & Energy said: “Across the manufacturing process, the building industry is a major user of energy. To make a true reduction in carbon emissions, we must look at the energy used at our manufacturing sites. As part of Kingspan’s Planet Passionate commitments, we are on a journey towards decarbonisation. Calor BioLPG offers a compelling route to reduce carbon emissions at our sites in the UK and Ireland.”
The positive results we’ve received already from working alongside Kingspan Water and Energy Limited to deliver BioLPG are incredibly encouraging. It also furthers our long-term ambition here at Calor to offer all our customers 100% renewable energy solutions by 2040. Two of Kingspan’s other manufacturing sites in Ireland already use Calor BioLPG for their production processes, and our latest project with Kingspan at Aston Clinton to provide this renewable fuel source for commercial heating is just one way we are working towards this goal, firmly putting us on the path to making our ambition a reality.
In the meantime, our commercial LPG provides an effective, tried-and-tested commercial heating solution for businesses located in areas off the mains gas grid. To find out more about the benefits of LPG, and how it can help businesses cut CO2 emissions by up to 16% vs oil [2], visit the Calor Business Energy Hub.
References
1&2. Atlantic Consulting, 2017
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