Jaguar Land Rover continues energy efficiency drive amid business expansion

A increased investment in a range of energy efficiency and low-carbon initiatives, including an agreement to purchase 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, has seen Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) decouple energy consumption per vehicle produced from a business expansion and wider data capture.


JLR’s latest sustainability report released this week outlines the progress made by the UK’s largest car manufacturer as it strives to make its manufacturing operations carbon-neutral by 2020.

In last year’s sustainability report, the firm announced that it would spend £36m over the next three years in renewable energy, energy efficiency and process improvements.

This year’s report highlights that JLR has so far delivered 60 energy-saving projects, at the cost of £23m, which have together saved more than 57,000 tonnes of annualised CO2 equivalent emissions. These projects include a roof-mounted solar array, LED lighting, combined heat and power distribution systems, building management systems, insulation and energy mapping.

The group also recently signed an agreement with supplier EDF to ensure that all manufacturing and production sites – and the majority of satellite sites – are supplied with 100% renewable energy through to 2020.

JLR’s executive director of human resources and global purchasing Ian Harnett said: “Our future is low-carbon, clean and efficient. Our programme to reduce our burden on the National Grid doesn’t end here; we seek continual improvements, both in how we can reduce energy consumption further and how to minimise our carbon emissions.

“Our aim is to give our customers an assurance that the company’s electricity will come from renewable sources: those being in addition to the solar array at our Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton – one of the largest rooftop installations in Europe.”

JLR recorded a slight year-on-year increase in total emissions and energy use in 2016, which the firm has attributed to business expansions and wider data capturing capabilities – this is the first sustainability report that incorporates data for total energy and CO2 from JLR’s Engine Manufacturing Centres and its new Chinese joint venture.

Total energy use rose from 1,330Mwh to 1,412Mwh in 2016, with around 6% of the new figure being attributed to the newly captured data areas. The company’s CO2 emissions also climbed from 421,000 tonnes to 445,000 tonnes, with 11% of the 2016 total attributed to newly reported-on areas.

But despite this business growth, JLR has managed to shrink key footprints per vehicle produced, indicating a successful energy efficiency strategy. JLR has recorded a 38% reduction in energy per vehicle produced from a 2007 baseline. Emissions per vehicle produced fell from 0.76 tonnes to 0.67 tonnes in the past 12 months and JLR has also recorded a 32% reduction in European fleet average tailpipe emissions compared to 2007.

Wasting away

On waste, JLR has a “key goal” of zero waste across the business by 2020, with an interim target of zero waste to landfill from main manufacturing sites. Parameters were set to define that no waste should be sent directly to landfill from vehicle operations and that there should be a 95% avoidance to landfill at second tier operations.

By March 2016, the company had reached the interim target. JLR excluded metals from this area of reporting, as these are already recycled, along with wastes that are not associated with the normal process of vehicle design or manufacture such as construction wastes. JLR also excluded any waste that had to go to landfill such as asbestos.

Specifically, JLR reclaimed more than 50,000 tonnes of press shop aluminium waste in the last 12 months – enough to produce around 200,000 Jaguar XE bodyshells. By providing a second life for this material, JLR has prevented more than 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The firm’s ability to drive down waste has been aided by the development of its REALCAR project, which incorporates an aluminium alloy that contains up to 75% recycled content into the manufacturing of all of its vehicles.

Alongside offsetting 100% of all UK manufacturing assembly emissions, JLR is also focusing on projects that give dual benefits to reducing carbon and improving lives. One such example is the company’s work with the LifeStraw Community. The project provides clean drinking water to more than 370,000 people in Kenya, saving more than 186,700 tonnes of carbon as the water no longer needs to be purified through burning wood or kerosene.

JLR’s own water use has increased due to the business growth and data capturing capabilities. An increase of almost 100,000m3 of water was recorded, although the company has reduced water use per vehicle produced by almost 39% since 2007.

Matt Mace

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