Case studies

We recognise that our climate is changing, and as a significant energy user we have a role to play in reducing our contribution to it. 

In 2012, the carbon footprint of our operations (excluding transport) was 374 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), 11% down compared to the previous year.  The reduction to date has been achieved through a combination of investment in energy efficiency – such as utilising better manufacturing schedules, regular maintenance and optimising building management – as well as in new technology.  Comparing over a longer period, our 2012 emissions are 52% lower than 2000 levels.  In terms of the products we manufacture, we generated 5.6 kg CO2e per kg of dyed product in 2012 compared to 6.2 kg CO2e in the previous year.  This is nearly a 10% reduction in one year alone.

During 2012 we also saw an increase in the amount of energy taken from renewable sources, particularly wind power, and also an increase in the amount of energy produced at our sites.  Last year we used over 1,018 million kWh of energy, of which just under 40% was electricity, a third gas and the remainder coal, oil and renewables.  In 2000, the overall figure was 1.7 billion kWh.  

We have made good progress over the past 12 years and will continue to drive down our energy consumption and reduce emissions from our business.

Wherever possible, Coats aims to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment.  As a result of our focus on converting demand to renewable sources and improving our energy efficiency, emissions of greenhouse gases from our global operations were reduced by 11% in 2012, and by more than 50% compared to 2000. 

In the Tamil Nadu region of India, the state run energy grid has proven inadequate to meet the demands of industry, resulting in inconsistent power supply and power cuts that can last for many hours.  In addition, the limited state supply has seen energy costs increase by 37%.  This has impacted our mills in Madurai, Ambas and Tuticorin, and to maintain production, our Indian team had to run costly diesel generators to supplement the energy available from the grid.  

A longer-term solution to reduce reliance on the grid and the generators was needed.  The management in India considered electricity from wind power as one option amongst a choice of other private producers who used coal, gas or bio fuel.  However, the desire to reduce carbon emissions and source non-polluting energy was a big influence on the team’s final choice.   

As a result, Madura Coats in India is now sourcing renewable energy from a company that uses wind power to generate electricity.  20% of the electricity used in Coats India now comes from a clean source, emitting zero emissions from its generation.   Furthermore, the price of wind power is less likely to vary over time and is lower in cost than the state owned supply.

Improving the environmental footprint of our operations is a priority for Coats.  Where possible we encourage our local teams to save energy or find other efficiencies which will reduce carbon emissions. 

At Coats Shenzhen, in southern China, many of our employees stay in a dormitory on site.  Until recently the heating of the hot water for the dormitory was generated using a combination of a diesel boiler and solar panels.  The system was expensive and inefficient and limited hot water availability in the dormitory to certain hours a day.  Relying heavily on diesel fuel, it also contributed a large amount to the site’s greenhouse gas emissions.   

To find a better alternative, the Regional Manufacturing Director in Shenzhen assembled a multi-discipline team from the engineering, admin and purchasing departments.  They came up with an innovative new system which takes waste water from the dyeing process, still hot from production, and pumps it through a heat exchanger.  The exchanger then heats water which is transferred on to the dormitory.   Whenever the dyehouse is in operation, usually 24 hours per day, there is heat and hot water available for the showers and laundry – not usual in most company dormitories.  Note that to ensure there is no risk of our operators showering in contaminated water (if a heat exchanger got punctured) we have two independent sensors that check colour and conductivity.  If there is any increase in either of these parameters, the system is shut down for checking. 

The new method is not only more reliable, it also saves US$40,000 per year in diesel fuel.  This amounts to annual savings of over 89,000 kilograms of carbon (CO2 equivalent).  This is a great example of innovation that brings environmental improvement, cost savings, time efficiency and greater comfort for our people. 

Here is the team that proposed and implemented the scheme, standing in front of the control panel

Picture of the dormitories, with the solar panels on the roof.  (Not enough energy is generated by the solar panels alone.)

Water is a key resource for us. We recognise that it is scarce in many parts of the world, including in some of the countries in which we operate.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a membrane-technology filtration method that removes salts and other impurities from solutions, and can produce water that meets the demanding specifications that are required for accurate dyeing. RO is achieved by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the contaminant is retained on the pressurised side of the membrane and the pure water is allowed to pass to the other side.

At our plant in Turkey, effluent used to be directly discharged to the Bursa Organised Industrial District Management (BOID)'s Waste Water Treatment Plant without any treatment. However, in July 2011 we installed an RO system to re-use some of this effluent water instead of it all going to waste. In terms of efficiency, the RO system manages to convert nearly 70% of the effluent into clean water for use in the dyeing process, the rest is discharged to the BOID's Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Coats Turkey is looking forward to a significant reduction in total water consumption with the RO system's first full year of operation in 2012.