Excellence in energy management pays off

THE Excellence in Energy Management Award at this year's EENP Awards has gone to Concentrate Manufacturing Singapore Pte Ltd, which is a manufacturing plant of the global food and beverages giant, PepsiCo. It manufactures beverage flavour concentrates for all Pepsi beverage brands, supplying bottling plants in the Asia Pacific and North America regions.

The Excellence in Energy Management award recognises companies that have demonstrated a high level of commitment to excellence in energy management.

"I am grateful to the NEA (National Environment Agency) for recognising our commitment to sustainable business practices and relentless drive to improve energy efficiency. I am extremely proud of our Singapore team for their inspiring work to achieve this goal," Josh Watts, plant director, says in an interview with The Business Times. Getting the Excellence in Energy Management Award is a testament to PepsiCo's commitment to its sustainability goals. Since the Singapore manufacturing facility was commissioned in April 2017, sustainability has been an integral part of its daily operations, he adds.

"Despite being equipped with the most advanced production infrastructure, we have prioritised optimising our production machinery and utilities equipment to ensure manufacturing efficiencies while reducing energy and water consumption. It is this culture of continuous improvement and sustainable business practices that has been fundamental to reducing energy consumption across our value chain.

"We continue to leverage global talent available within PepsiCo across sustainability, R&D and engineering, replicating best practices in energy efficiency," he tells BT.

While energy efficiency is the core of how the company does its business, Covid 19 has highlighted an urgent need to drive positive change, not just for the business but also for the community and employees. For instance, this year a solar panels installation project was commissioned which is targeted for completion by March next year. Additionally, a rainwater harvesting proposal for PepsiCo's global sustainability funding was recently submitted.

Looking ahead, Watts says energy costs will continue to go up as demand increases and the extraction of traditional nonrenewable energy sources damages the environment. "We understand that as our business grows it will put pressure on our energy resources and the only way to manage this demand is to drive energy efficiency and waste reduction across our value chain. This is not only significant for cost reduction but also for the environment.

"In January we pledged to reach net zero emissions across our value chain by 2040 - energy efficiency in our own operations is one way we will get there. It is not always the easiest approach as it requires a cultural mind shift for all employees to embrace this as a priority. We take a proactive approach to energy efficiency rather than waiting for governments and regulatory bodies to impose restrictions and controls."

Watts says that while expense reduction is certainly a benefit, the plant has seen the benefits extending beyond just the financials and the environment. Increase in employee engagement is one benefit that should not be underestimated.

"Engaging and empowering the team to deliver on energy efficiency goals no matter how small, has built the culture of ownership at all levels of the business and demonstrated that everyone can contribute to creating a better workplace and a better planet. Extending this erudition into our corporate brand has also enabled PepsiCo to attract exceptional talent into the organisation," he adds.

All lights on site have been replaced with LEDs, leading to annual energy savings of 150,000 KWh. The operation of the air handling units has been optimised to generate annual energy savings of up to 126,000 KWh through adjusting the operating hours, temperature set points and even the damper settings. Similarly, the cooling water pumps and cooling tower fans have been further optimised leading to annual energy savings of 150,000 KWh.

Says Watts: "Many of our energy savings solutions were proposed by our frontline staff. In fact, one of our utility technicians suggested mapping out areas with sparse human occupancy during working hours to reduce the amount of LED lights that are required to be switched on."

Watts is considering installing an Energy Information Management System. By having real time and accurate information on the electricity consumption and the profile of the top energy drivers on the site would allow for proposals to be mapped out to further optimise equipment like air handling units, air compressor, and so on. It can also identify abnormalities and spikes in energy consumption, thus allowing proactive identification of equipment which are showing signs of premature or imminent failure.

Concentrate Manufacturing (Singapore) Pte Ltd supplies concentrate products for global beverage brands Pepsi, 7 Up, Mt Dew and Mirinda to 18 markets across the Asia Pacific region, including Singapore, and Gatorade for the North American market. The facility supplies 19 brands and more than 400 product variations.