Carbon footprint calculator developed to help save on energy costs
A new carbon footprint calculator for metal polishing has been created, after receiving funding from the University of Birmingham.
Professional Polishing Services (PPS) received funds and advice from the University’s ATETA programme, resulting in a digital process that can help identify where savings can be made on energy costs.
The project has involved mapping out the manufacturing flow and installing data logging sensors to monitor real-time power consumption of industrial equipment. Variables, including the type of material and speed of job, are factored into the equation to provide calculations that work out PPS’ carbon footprint and identify where savings can be made.
The West Bromwich-based company is not looking to keep this IP to itself, instead it is planning to roll-out the calculator to the rest of the finishing sector in a bid to help the industry move towards Net-Zero.
Kirsty Davies-Chinnock, managing director of PPS said: “Our bespoke stainless steel and non-ferrous polishing services are energy intensive, so it made perfect sense for us to look at how we could monitor costs – especially with prices going through the roof.
“As a SME, it’s sometimes difficult to make the time or spare the money for non-core activities. That’s why tapping into the ATETA programme and all the academic expertise that came with it was a no-brainer and has resulted in such impressive progress.”
“We now have a carbon calculator that can instantly work out the footprint of each of the jobs we put on our lines, and this is fantastic information to have. It gives our production team the opportunity to look at how we save energy, making us more competitive in the process.
“The next step will be to roll this out to the rest of our sector and we’re already talking to the
University and our competitors to see exactly how we do this.”
PPS works with an international client base and has all of its processes governed by ISO 9001:2015.
It has recently recruited three more team members alongside taking on two interns from WMG with the aim of improving manufacturing efficiencies and process flow. PPS has seen sales grow by £500,000 since Covid-19, taking it to £2m by the financial year-end.
“Although there are many companies conducting carbon accounting projects, the service provided is usually high-level information and delivers an understanding of what the firm’s legal requirements are…the ATETA project is much more than that,” added Sureena Sohal, Project Manager at the University of Birmingham.
“The carbon footprint calculator is for specific industries/processes and takes a much deeper dive into the data and, importantly, how manufacturers can offset some of the findings. It’s a very powerful weapon in the fight against emissions.”
