The General Electric subsidiary, which specialises in servicing aircraft engines, has seen a £200,000 investment in energy-saving projects return savings of seven times the original figure. (Scroll down for video).

Carbon Trust Wales carried out initial surveys for the work in 2006 and advised the company on improving its industrial processes such as servicing its air compressors and identifying air leaks as well as optimising everyday energy use.

Carbon Trust Wales account manager Lucy Hoggins said: “It’s so encouraging to see a world-leading manufacturing facility like GE Aviation Wales reaping rewards for its commitment to energy efficiency. The money saved can be re-invested into the company and support further business initiatives as part of GE Aviation Wales’s sustainability action plan.

“Businesses can learn a lot by looking at what other companies are doing to improve their energy efficiency and can often be incentivised by seeing the savings they are making.

“GE Aviation Wales’s £1.4m saving proves that energy efficiency is worth investing in.”

The company was initially moved to action on energy efficiency after visiting the AB InBev brewery in Luton, which had already worked with Carbon Trust Wales. The brewing company announced in November 2013 that it had saved six million hectolitres of water since 2011 and cut carbon emissions per hectolitre by 23.3%.

Further improvements

GE Aviation Wales maintenance manager Hywel Evans said: “Visiting InBev brewery gave us an insight into what other companies are doing to improve energy efficiency and inspired us to create our very own Green Sky Team.

“Our Green Sky Team is made up of volunteers from across the business who expressed an interest in sustainability. We have regular meetings to share ideas, drive new initiatives and review progress.

“By encouraging employee participation our sustainability ethos has filtered throughout the company. This way all of our employees have an increased awareness of energy consumption and are taking responsibility for their energy use which in turn is making savings for the company.

“We are really pleased to have made such significant savings. Following a recent survey by Carbon Trust Wales we are hoping we will be able to make further improvements.”

Much of the money saved has been reinvested into further efficiency projects. The below video from Carbon Trust Wales demonstrates the savings made by GE Aviation Wales.

VIDEO: GE Aviation Wales – Carbon Trust case study

Matt Field

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