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How an aircraft firm slashed its carbon emissions by 70%

The title of Northern Ireland's greenest business could fairly be claimed by Belfast-based Bombardier Aerospace.

In the last three months alone, the company has scooped no less than three awards recognising its environmental improvements and development into a high quality working environment.



The company says it is undergoing a "major cultural transformation" after drawing up and, more importantly, acting upon an impressive list of environmental measures — slashing its carbon emissions by almost 70% since 2005, for example.



It has also created eight new jobs by employing a team of recycling specialists on site and appointed around 120 employees as energy w ardens. Another 3,000 employees have been trained in conservation and the company is planning to train 2,000 more. It is a measure that could shame many other companies which struggle to persuade workers even to switch off the lights and computers at the end of the day.



In April, Bombardier won the Belfast Telegraph Business Award for Excellence in Environmental Achievement, followed by the Business in the Community (NI) Recognition Award for Environmental Improvement in May. In June, it was awarded the Irish News Workplace & Employment 'Right Place to Work' Award.



Bombardier says it has made major progress in reducing its carbon footprint at its main site, cutting emissions by 69% since 2001. In 2007 alone, carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 14,000 tonnes and total energy consumption was reduced by 13% from 2006 to 2007 — bringing savings equivalent to $2.6 million.



These targets were reached by introducing green energy measures such as converting boilers from fuel oil to gas, installing intelligent and high efficiency lighting and introducing an energy consumption monitoring system to pinpoint which areas are consuming the most power.

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Bombardier has also secured contracts with gas and electricity suppliers which do not penalise reduced consumption and has introduced an energy request system so that departments working outside normal hours must submit formal requests for heat, lighting and power.



The company has also introduced innovative approaches to reducing non-hazardous waste — cutting the amount of waste from packaging and reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill. It has installed waste recycling stations on site — the responsibility for filling and emptying these stations lies with employees. Bombardier says it is now recycling or recovering wood, cardboard, metals, paper, plastics, IT equipment, IT consumables and carbon fibre.



"Up until 2007, all our carbon fibre waste was being sent to landfill where, due to its stability, it probably would not decompose for thousands of years. We have now identified a service provider who can recover valuable carbon fibres from waste," a spokesman said.



"In 2007, we recycled or recovered 68% of non-hazardous waste. This figure rose to 77% for the month of January 2008 and should continue to rise further.



"Our mass of waste sent to landfill in 2007 fell to an all-time low of just 913 tonnes, this despite increasing production rates."



Not only is Bombardier tackling its own ecological footprint, but it is spreading the message to other Northern Ireland companies by requiring its suppliers to reduce their environmental impact.



All suppliers to offer waste management services have had environmental audits and the company has set up an Environmental Development Programme for suppliers to improve their performance.



Russell McFadden, general manager in Transformation, said Bombardier is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen.



He said: "We have developed a strong set of environmental values.



"Despite increased activity levels, we continue to take significant steps to make the operation of our organisation more energy-efficient and the management of our waste more environmentally prudent," Mr McFadden added.









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