The process of accreditation requires the assessment of current carbon emissions, to form a baseline by which to gauge reductions.
It was found that the key areas for carbon reduction were:
- Transport
- Space Heating
- Compressed Air
Basic calculations were used to highlight significant carbon sources.
KABA operates a very modern vehicle fleet, the vast majority of which have very low emissions. It was felt despite there being considerable carbon emissions associated with the use of vans and cars, there was little scope for saving here.
Space heating requirements are currently met by gas fired boilers, in an attempt to lower emissions these are to be swapped for ultra efficient condensing boilers.
The replacement of the compressor with a more efficient model also aims to reduce carbon emissions. A compressor with a flexible out put is more likely to increase power supply factors, and a stop start system often is impractical without increasing power supply factor, creating extra expense. A way around this is to use a variable load compressor which rather than stopping and starting, slows down and speeds up dependant on demand, thus avoiding these knock on effects.