Cofely teams up with United Biscuits to tackle CO2
United Biscuits has reduced CO2 emissions by over 27 t at its headquarters in Middlesex as part of a wide-ranging sustainability programme with Cofely. Gas consumption has been reduced by 27% and electricity consumption by 5.2% by a range of works forming the first phase of an ongoing energy-conservation programme as part of Cofely’s contract for energy and facilities management.
As a result of a range of initiatives, the site is well on its way to achieving a CO2 footprint of 78 kg/m2/year — considerably below the CIBSE TM22 benchmark of 101 kg/m2/year for a building of this size and type.
‘The key to the success of this project is that we have been working as one team,’ noted Mark Tupper of United Biscuits. ‘Once we had agreed what needed to be done, Cofely simply went off and delivered it — so there has been no pressure on our management resources, as would have been the case if we were managing a team of subcontractors.’
Plans for the work began in December 2008, when Cofely presented a carbon-reduction road map to United Biscuits. For most elements of the programme, Cofely offered several proposals for improving energy efficiency, and each element of the project was budgeted and evaluated against the forecast carbon reduction.
The scope of the work was extensive, ranging from improving control strategies to fine-tuning maintenance schedules. For example, the building management systems and control networks were completely overhauled.
Other work included reducing the voltage by 2.6%, installing energy-saving shower heads, balancing the main air intake and adding free cooling to air-handling plant, and improving lighting control.
Jonathan Crowley of Cofely commented, ‘This is a prime example of how an initial TM22 building-energy benchmarking report can open the doors to a world of energy-saving opportunities.’
Following this work, the team is well positioned to investigate the potential for renewable energy.
