With “Sustaining the Energy Efficiency Drive” as the theme for this year’s National Energy Efficiency Conference (NEEC) in Singapore, the organisers have gone out of their way to demonstrate through a host of excellent speakers and sessions that energy efficiency is being effectively managed and sustained by hundreds of companies at home and aboard. Keynote speaker on the first day, Aidan Lynan of the Holcim Group Support, set the pace by demonstrating how his company has gone about about “Creating a Lean Energy Culture with Sustainability”. Read More

Sustaining the Energy Efficiency Drive:

Industries and Experts Sets the Pace for the

National Energy Efficiency Conference

9 & 10 October 2013 at Max Atria Singapore Expo

“Sustaining the Energy Efficiency Drive” is easier said than done, but as it is the theme for this year’s National Energy Efficiency Conference (NEEC) in Singapore, the organisers have gone out of their way to demonstrate through a host of excellent speakers and sessions that energy efficiency is being effectively managed and sustained by hundreds of companies at home and aboard.

Speakers from industries both large and small, in sectors ranging from steel-making to pharmaceutical, will present case studies and best practices on how energy efficiency can be put to work and be sustained with results. All these will be done over two power-packed days, through four plenary sessions and twelve breakout sessions.

Some of the world’s leading businesses like 3M, Holcim, ABB, Siemens, Nestle, Exxon Mobil, McKinsey and Accenture will share with delegates the benefit of their energy efficiency experiences, as well as some of Singapore’s most successful businesses like Asia Pacific Breweries and NatSteel. There are also speakers from some of Singapore leading research centres – the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), the Energy Studies Institute at National University of Singapore and the Energy Research Institute @ NTU.

To get proceedings underway in a most efficient manner on 9 October, the opening ceremony will be combined with the presentation of this year’s EENP awards to deserving winners, with guest of honour Ms Grace Fu, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, who is Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The EENP Awards comprise four award categories – Excellence in Energy Management, Best Practices, Outstanding Energy Managers of the Year and Best Energy Efficiency Practices for Public Sector Agencies – rewarding those who have demonstrated exemplary performance and commitment to energy management efforts and have been proactive in implementing energy efficiency improvements.

This is Singapore’s third annual NEEC and is part of the learning network of the Energy Efficiency National Partnership (EENP) programme, organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Economic Development Board (EDB). Its main objective is to provide thought leadership in energy efficiency, and to bring together energy efficiency experts and industry energy professionals to share best practices and case studies of successful projects.

There is also an exhibition held in conjunction with the conference, featuring a record number of exhibitors, with a range of energy efficient industrial technologies, practices and solutions.

Some of the conference highlights, speakers and topics covered include the following:

 Keynote speaker on the first day is Aidan Lynam, Area Manager, South Asia / ASEAN, for the Holcim Group Support, who will set the pace by demonstrating how his company went about Creating a Lean Energy Culture with Sustainability.

 To show how Solar Power is Part of a Sustainable Energy Strategy, assisting the drive towards energy efficiency is none other than Dr Thomas Reindl of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS).

 Making Energy Efficiency Sustainable is the subject of the first morning’s plenary session when Key Elements Towards a Sustainable and Profitable Business Solution for Energy Efficiency will be covered by Peter Halliday, of Siemens Building Technologies, Harsh Choudhary, Energy Efficiency Specialist, from McKinsey and Company and Vinod Kesava, of The Green Asia Group Pte Ltd.

 Energy Management Information Systems, including The role of energy management information systems in energy efficiency will be covered in a plenary session by Malavika Bambawale, Senior Manager, Strategy and Sustainability Services, Accenture and Li Huishi, Consultant, KBC Advanced Technology.

 Energy Efficiency Financing will be covered in a plenary session on day two by Glen Plumbridge , Managing Director, Sustainable Development Capital (Asia) Limited, Harvey Koenig, Executive Director, Tax , KPMG Singapore & Rahul Kar, Director, Climate Change & Sustainability, KPMG in Singapore, joined by Kavita Gandhi, Executive Director, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS).

 Breakout sessions on the first day cover case studies in Energy Management Excellence, Best Practices in Energy Efficiency (Optimisation projects) and Energy Efficiency in High Technology Facilities – Laboratories and Cleanrooms, Best Practices in Energy Efficiency (Installation of tri-gen & Waste heat recovery) and Energy Efficiency in High Technology Facilities – Data Centres.

 Setting up a Sustainable Energy Management System will feature in one of the day two breakout sessions, alongside Energy Management in Organisations, Best Practices in Energy Efficiency (Heat Recovery / Heat Integration), Energy Auditing Case Studies and Best Practices in Energy Efficiency (Process Chillers & Chilled Water).

 The closing plenary session on day two, moderated by Dr Elspeth Thomson of ESI, will bring together a number of moderators to impart the highlights of their sessions and answer questions from the floor.

This year’s conference and exhibition gives delegates the opportunity to gain from two intensive days with such a comprehensive array of expertise and experience representing the best practices at home and aboard. No excuse for not picking up some workable tips to start and sustain an energy efficiency drive in any business or industry.

This preview of NEEC 2013 is contributed by Ken Hickson, Chairman and CEO of Sustain Ability Showcase (SASA), Chairman of the Green Purchasing Network Singapore and author of the book “Race for Sustainability” which will be launched at this year’s conference, where he will also act as moderator for two break-out sessions on day one.

Source: www.e2singapore.gov.sg

“Holcim Leadership Journey 2012 – 2014″ Program to further strengthen market and cost leadership to generate additional operating profit of at least CHF 1.5 billion by end of 2014

To sustainably improve the return on invested capital, Holcim Ltd is launching a program to further strengthen market and cost leadership. The Executive Committee and the management of the Group companies are together starting the “Holcim Leadership Journey” with specific measures to increase operating profit by at least CHF 1.5 billion by the end of 2014. The base line is the financial year 2011 (excluding 2011 one-off charges of CHF 375 million and without fluctuations in currency, changes in scope of consolidation and under similar market conditions). CEO Bernard Fontana: “After intensive discussions at the senior management level and based on close collaboration with the Group companies, I am confident that we will achieve these targets. At least CHF 150 million positive impact will be achieved in 2012.”

The “Holcim Leadership Journey” focuses on the following areas:

•Customer Excellence by improving customer focus and innovation

•Cost Leadership:

◦Increasing energy efficiency and the use of alternative fuels and raw materials

◦Reducing logistics costs

◦Streamlining of the procurement process globally

◦Increasing fixed costs savings

•Further reduction of net working capital and selective divestments

•Reduction of the investment cost per tonne of new cement capacity

•Further development and generation of talents and leaders as well as strengthening of the social dialogue with all stakeholders

•The realization of this program anticipates one-off costs of less than CHF 200 million.

Customer Excellence by improving customer focus and innovation (additional operating profit by end of 2014: CHF 500 million)

The focus will be on measures to strengthen the management of customer value and loyalty, margin and prices as well as sales force. Furthermore, Holcim will implement standardized performance indicators across the whole Group to measure the progress in marketing and sales.

Customers will benefit from Holcim’s increased understanding of their needs. The Group’s ability to innovate in fields such as integrated market solutions, new materials, or low CO2 solutions will enable it to fully meet those customer needs with improved products and services.

Increasing energy efficiency and the use of alternative fuels and raw materials (additional operating profit by end of 2014: > CHF 300 million)

Holcim will increase its energy efficiency and the use of alternative fuels and raw materials. Various measures are planned: from clinker grinding improvements and kiln burner updates, to optimization of the fuel mix in cement production as well as initiatives in the field of energy procurement. The cost reduction measures will be supported by some “fast return” Capex projects.

Holcim sets aside some CHF 100 million every year to further improve energy efficiency in the Group. In 2010, a fund was set up for this purpose. The fund is an element in the Group’s comprehensive energy strategy and is financed by the proceeds from the sale of excess CO2 emissions certificates. Projects for electricity generation by means of waste heat recovery, wind power and alternative fuels as replacement of fossil heat carriers have already been approved. With these projects alone, Holcim will save around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually which is approximately as much as the annual CO2-emissions of a small town with 30,000 inhabitants.

Concrete is a highly energy and CO2-efficient building material. After water, it is globally the second most consumed commodity by volume, and vital to a functioning infrastructure. Production of the intermediate product cement is, however, energy-intensive – with thermal and electrical energy accounting for approximately 40 percent of the cost of production. In US dollar terms, energy costs have risen by around 8 percent per year over the last five years. In addition, CO2 emissions occur – 60 percent of which are caused by the chemical conversion of stone in the rotary kiln and 40 percent by the use of fossil fuels.

Because the European cement industry currently emits less CO2 than it is entitled to, large sums of money are raised each year from the sale of excess emissions certificates. The reasons for this excess are the sluggish European growth and the industry’s endeavors to boost energy efficiency and reduce emissions. Holcim is leading in these areas in particular.

Holcim allocates these proceeds to a fund to promote energy efficiency – normally some CHF 100 million every year. The fund launched in 2010 should help ensure the realization of innovative projects across the Group in the field of heat recovery, the utilization of alternative fuels and raw materials, as well as wind power and hydroelectricity. The objective is clear: to save fossil fuels and boost energy efficiency, resulting in an improvement in our environmental footprint and a reduction in production costs; this is particularly important against the backdrop of rising global energy costs. The energy fund is an element in the Group’s comprehensive strategy for countering these cost pressures.

Holcim has produced a list of criteria for the assessment of projects to be financed. The emphasis is on economic efficiency, the potential to reduce CO2 and the possibility of multiplying innovations speedily and successfully across the Group.

The creation of the Fund led to competition between the Group companies to produce the best project proposals, and sparked a whole series of new approaches for sustainable energy projects. 2010 saw funds earmarked for five heat recovery plants in Vietnam, India, Romania, Lebanon and Switzerland. These installations are under construction and will be commissioned between the end of 2011 and 2013. Another six projects were approved this year. They include four waste heat recovery units in Canada, Slovakia, Mexico and India, as well as two installations for the utilization of alternative fuels and raw materials in Germany and France. These facilities will be commissioned in 2013 and 2014.

Once completed, the projects approved to date will produce a cumulative 36 megawatts of electricity – equivalent to the electricity needs of a very large cement plant. Thereby Holcim will save around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. That is approximately as much as the annual CO2-emissions of a small town with 30,000 inhabitants.

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Holcim is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, gravel and sand) as well as further activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt, including services. The Group holds majority and minority interests in around 70 countries on all continents.

Source: www.holcim.com