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Heads Up - April 15, 2004 Vol. VIII, No. 8 CIPEC - In this issue
Industrial Energy Innovators Honoured for Leadership in Reducing GHG Emissions
Don't Miss Out! Register as an Industrial Energy Innovator Today!
Mandatory GHG Emission Reporting Announced
New Director for the Industrial Programs Division
Articles
Industrial Energy Innovators Honoured for Leadership in Reducing GHG Emissions
Industrial Energy Innovators were recognized on March 30, 2004, at the seventh annual Leadership Awards ceremony of Canada's Climate Change Voluntary Challenge and Registry Inc. (VCR Inc.). The awards recognize private and public sector commitment to, action on and leadership in voluntarily reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. Organizations are chosen for showing a significant decrease in emissions intensity, demonstrating senior management commitment, setting future reduction targets, and preparing detailed action plans and progress reports. The Office of Energy Efficiency of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) congratulates the following on their accomplishments and their ongoing commitment to energy efficiency:
- Bowater Canadian Forest Products Inc. (Forest Products)
- BP Canada Energy Company (Oil and Gas – Upstream)
- Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. (Automotive Manufacturing)
- Shell Canada Limited (Tree Canada Foundation Afforestation Leadership Award)
- Stelco Inc. (Primary Metals Manufacturing)
- St. Lawrence Cement Inc. (Cement Manufacturing)
- Suncor Energy Inc. (Integrated Oil and Gas Corporation)
"Addressing climate change requires team work and innovative thinking, and VCR Inc.'s award winners are ideal examples of what we can do through voluntary actions," said the Honourable John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. "Facing climate change is all about choices. The choices made by these people we are honouring today will help build a better quality of life for Canadians – strengthening our social foundations, for now and for the future."
In addition, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) won the award for Association Leadership. As one of the 45 trade association members of the Canadian Industrial Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC), MAC reports 2001 GHG emissions were 26 percent lower, compared to 1990 levels, in metal mining operations, and 12 percent lower in the nonferrous metal smelting and refining sector. Per unit of production, this represents a 5.5 percent and 22.5 percent improvement, respectively, in emissions intensity. A primary focus of that work is to monitor energy and environmental performance and to encourage continuous improvement in energy efficiency through involvement with CIPEC and VCR Inc. MAC's approach has also included the development of Strategic Planning and Action on Climate Change, a guide prepared with the help of the Pembina Institute, Stratos Inc. and the Office of Energy Efficiency to help the mining industry devise climate change principles and strategies that support long-term GHG reduction efforts.
The Government of Canada was also recognized for its efforts in the Government category. The Canadian government has also shown leadership in public outreach and education. NRCan's Office of Energy Efficiency manages seven energy efficiency and alternative fuel programs aimed at the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors; and for more than 25 years, CIPEC has been helping Canadian industry boost its bottom line by using energy more efficiently.
NOVA Chemicals (Chemicals), Noranda-Falconbridge Inc. (Metal Mining), Stora Enso Port Hawkesbury Ltd. (Forest Products) and Alcoa Canada Première fusion (Primary Metals Manufacturing) were cited with "Honourable Mention" designations in their respective categories.
Heads Up CIPEC congratulates all winners for their accomplishments and commitment to energy efficiency. Many of the winners were previously featured in Heads Up CIPEC and CIPEC Success Stories.
For more information and a complete list of winners in other categories, visit VCR Inc.'s Web site at www.vcr-mvr.ca. Heads Up CIPEC also thanks VCR Inc. for the following text.
And the Winners Are . . .
VCR Inc. Awards WinnersBowater Canadian Forest Products Inc.
Bowater Canadian Forest Products, with operations in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, is responsible for the management of forestry operations on nearly 25 million acres of public and private land, supplying four paper mills, 10 sawmills and one wood treatment plant. It is headquartered in Montréal and is a division of U.S.-based lumber and paper producer Bowater Inc.
Bowater Canadian Forest Products
The company reports a 2002 emissions intensity of 0.115 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per tonne of newsprint from its plant in Gatineau, Quebec, an 83 percent reduction from the 1990 baseline. It also reports a 74 percent reduction of absolute emissions. This significant accomplishment was partly achieved through the deployment of a biomass-fuelled boiler, which generates process steam previously derived through the burning of heavy oil. Engineering and environment manager Michael Groves says that the company also installed a heat exchanger to capture exhaust heat from the pulping process, an investment that paid for itself in one year.
"The return on investment was excellent," he says, "and at the end of the day you reduce costs, improve energy efficiency and decrease GHG emissions."
Mr. Groves explains other changes include a more attentive attitude towards all operations as they relate to energy consumption, better measurement of GHGs and the creation of an energy team that identifies and maintains efficiency projects.
Bowater now has an agreement with Hydro Québec to supply the utility with power from a 20-MW cogeneration facility, producing both power and steam, located at the Gatineau newsprint mill. It's not clear how this will affect Bowater's direct emissions, but the new power plant, to be operational July 2006, will reduce GHGs associated with generation on the provincial electricity grid
BP Canada Energy Company
With 1400 employees operating in six provinces and two territories, the business of BP Canada Energy is largely centred on the exploration and production of natural gas, but it also processes, markets and trades both natural gas and gas derivatives.
Senior leadership from BP worldwide, headquartered in London, England, has committed to reducing GHGs and has pioneered some innovative programs – in 2000 it launched a global corporate emissions trading system among its various divisions located in 100 countries around the globe. President Brian Frank says BP Canada Energy's plan includes controlling GHGs at the source, conserving energy, introducing new technology, promoting flexible market instruments, participating in the policy process and investing in research.
"We've demonstrated it's possible for industry to be proactive," says Mr. Frank. "The savings we have made through reduction or elimination of hydrocarbon flaring and venting, combined with greater energy efficiency, have outweighed the expenditure involved in emissions reduction projects."
In 2002, BP Canada's absolute emissions were 21.6 percent below a 1990 baseline, an annual decrease of 794 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent. In a single reporting year, between 2001 and 2002, this represents a 10.3 percent reduction in absolute emissions.
By 2012, BP Canada aims to reduce its total emissions by 24.7 percent below 1990 levels, achieved by focussing on energy efficiency, waste heat recovery and minimizing fugitive emissions.
Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd.
Since 1990, Ford has invested $9.5 billion in its Canadian operations, making Ford of Canada one of the country's largest privately held companies. Operations include a national headquarters, six regional offices, six vehicle assembly and engine manufacturing plants, two parts distribution centres and the following affiliates: Ford Credit, Hertz, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. The company employs nearly 16 000 people.
Ford of Canada has reduced energy consumption by 23 percent since 1995, its baseline year, with more than 24 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent reduced annually. The company derived a substantial decrease in energy consumption through an investment in Big Foot heating systems at both the Oakville Assembly Plant and the Ontario Truck Plant. A total of 13 gas-fired Big Foot rooftop units, each with a large air house containing two 100-horsepower fans, were installed between the two plants, creating new ductless heating and ventilation systems. The project has generated significant energy cost savings and lowered GHG emissions.
President and CEO Alain Batty says that the company is on target to reduce its energy consumption per unit of production by 1 percent every year between 1995 and 2005. Ford of Canada, he explains, "with the support of its employees, recognizes the importance of protecting the environment."
Also by 2005, compared to the 1995 baseline, Ford hopes to achieve a 24 percent reduction in GHG emissions intensity.
Shell Canada Limited
Shell Canada is the first recipient of Tree Canada Foundation's Afforestation Leadership Award, a presentation that will be hosted annually by VCR Inc. at its Leadership Awards ceremony. The special prize goes to the Tree Canada sponsor that best exemplifies the mission of the foundation while mitigating the effects of climate change through carbon sequestration.
Tree Canada is a non-profit, charitable foundation that, in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions, provides education, technical assistance, resources and financial support to help Canadians plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. Since 1992, it has engaged more than 60 Canadian companies and government agencies to support the planting of more than 75 million trees.
Shell Canada began working with the foundation four years ago, says Tree Canada president Jeff Monty. He explains afforestation projects, which establish trees in areas unforested for at least 50 years, can be used to offset GHG emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, and Tree Canada quantifies reductions and credits them to sponsors. As a sponsor, Shell Canada has planted nearly 440 000 trees and sequestered about 85 000 tonnes of carbon.
Shell Canada is an integrated energy company, producing natural gas, natural gas liquids, bitumen and sulphur. The company is also evaluating investment opportunities in wind power across Canada and has previously won two VCR Inc. Leadership Awards.
More information on Tree Canada can be found at the foundation's Web site at www.treecanada.ca.
Stelco Inc.
Stelco Inc. continues to be among the leaders in Canadian metal manufacturers by working through both industry and government partnerships to reduce and document GHG emissions.
Stelco, headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, is Canada's largest and most diversified steel producer, with an annual steel making capability of nearly 6 million tonnes. In 2002, the Stelco group produced more than 5 million tonnes of steel and shipped products valued at $2.8 billion. Also in 2002, compared to a 1990 baseline year, the Stelco group achieved a 14 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 16.8 percent decrease in GHG emissions intensity. Absolute GHG emissions decreased 8.4 percent, a total of 700 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Stelco's target is to reduce energy consumption per tonne of steel shipped 1 percent per year from 2000 to 2010, achieved by energy efficiency projects including heat recovery, steam system improvements, fuel switching and automated process controls. It is also continuing to advance a cogeneration project at its Hamilton steel plant, which will displace GHG emissions from coal-powered electricity generation.
St. Lawrence Cement Inc.
From its head office in Montréal, St. Lawrence Cement operates two cement plants in Canada, the Joliette plant in Quebec and the Mississauga plant in Ontario, which together produce 2.5 million tonnes of cement annually. The company, 64 percent owned by Swiss-based Holcim Ltd., has a total of 2520 employees in Canada.
St. Lawrence Cement
As part of the process of producing cement, 60 percent of GHG emissions come from the calcination of limestone, which involves the decarbonation of raw materials and the release of CO2. The remaining emissions come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cement kilns. Through the use of mineral components known as supplementary cementitious materials, St. Lawrence Cement has reduced process emissions. It has also made improvements through energy efficiency measures and the use of alternative fuels.
The company's October 2003 VCR Inc. report is the second annual report based on a protocol developed by the World Resources Institute and a special working group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. During its 1990 baseline year, net direct emissions were 839 kilograms per tonne of cementitious product. In 2002, intensity reduced to 679 kilograms CO2 equivalent/tonne, a reduction of 19 percent or 799 000 tonnes CO2 equivalent. St. Lawrence Cement now plans to reduce GHG emissions an additional 5 percent by 2010.
Suncor Energy Inc.
Suncor Energy is an integrated energy company with four business divisions and more than 4000 employees. Its strategic focus is the development of northern Alberta oil sands, but Suncor also produces natural gas from operations based in Western Canada. In Ontario, Suncor refines crude and markets petroleum products to wholesale and retail customers, and its businesses based in the United States include a Denver refinery and 43 Phillips-branded retail stations.
Oil Sands Pipeline
Suncor has submitted nine annual VCR Inc. action plans, starting in 1995. Its October 2003 report documents a 41.3 percent reduction in GHG emissions compared to a business-as-usual scenario. It also reports an 18 percent reduction in emissions intensity in 2002 compared to a 1990 baseline.
Suncor displays environmental commitment at every level of it operations and is now part of the five-year Environmental Supply Chain Management program, a project managed by VCR Inc. aimed at reducing GHG emissions in the suppliers of major Canadian corporations.
All of Suncor's actions from 1990 to 2002 produced a total reduction of 18.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, but because of growth, particularly oil sands expansions, total absolute emissions are above the 1990 baseline. Company president and CEO Rick George says "closing that gap" through good management, innovation and technology is "the challenge Suncor and Canada are striving to meet over the next decade and beyond."
The company is also investing in alternative and renewable energy. Its SunBridge wind farm, owned in a 50/50 partnership with Enbridge Inc., now generates about 32 000 tonnes of GHG reductions annually. And in September, Suncor received regulatory approval to construct a 30-MW joint-venture wind power project to be located near Magrath in southern Alberta.
Don't Miss Out! Register as an Industrial Energy Innovator Today!
Now that you have read through this issue, you may be asking yourself, "We're committed to energy efficiency as a means to reducing GHG emissions, how come nobody knows about us?" Let your voice and your accomplishments be known by signing up today as an Industrial Energy Innovator.
The Industrial Energy Innovators (IEI) initiative is sponsored by the Office of Energy Efficiency of NRCan. This initiative invites companies from all industrial sectors to achieve improved economic competitiveness through energy efficiency innovation. This voluntary initiative is also a means for companies to contribute to Canada's national effort to stabilize GHG emissions.
As IEI participants, companies gain access to a variety of products and services from NRCan designed to help them become more energy efficient. These include
- energy management training programs
- planning documents
- workshops
- information on financing options
- an international technical information network
- seminars on new technologies and operating practices
Funding for up to 50 percent of the cost of an energy audit to a maximum of $5,000 is also available to Industrial Energy Innovators.
If your company has not joined the IEI yet and would like to, contact NRCan by fax at (613) 992-3161 or by e-mail at info.ind@nrcan.gc.ca and get involved!
Mandatory GHG Emission Reporting Announced
On March 12, 2004, the Government of Canada announced the start of mandatory reporting of GHG emissions by Canada's major emitters. The announcement follows close collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, as well as broad consultations with industry and other stakeholders.
The first phase of this GHG reporting system, as published in the Canada Gazette on March 13, 2004, requires facilities that emit more than 100 kilotonnes of GHGs per year to report their 2004 GHG emissions.
Reports will be due by June 1, 2005, and will be submitted to Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada is recognized as a highly reliable and cost-effective mechanism for reporting, with a long track record of positive working relations with industry, federal, provincial and territorial governments and non-governmental organizations.
Further development of a harmonized "single-window" domestic mandatory GHG reporting system that meets the needs of all jurisdictions in a way that minimizes reporting burden on industry and government alike will continue through federal-provincial-territorial management. An on-going stakeholder input process is also currently being established to ensure timely and meaningful involvement of industry and other stakeholders in the design and development of the GHG reporting system.
For further information, please visit Natural Resources Canada's Large Final Emitters Group's Web site at www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/lfeg-ggef/English/reportingvehicle/20040312_en.htm.
New Director for the Industrial Programs Division
We are pleased to inform you that, following a competitive process, Michael Burke has been appointed by the Public Service Commission of Canada to the position of Director, Industrial Programs Division, Office of Energy Efficiency, effective April 19, 2004.
Mr. Burke was the Manager, Advanced Combustion Technologies and Industry Programs, CANMET Energy Technology Centre – Ottawa for the past five years. He also spent several years with NRCan as the Program Manager for the Federal Industrial Boiler Program and as an Industrial Applications Officer in the Industry Energy Research and Development program to help private companies improve their energy efficiency. Prior to joining the government, Mr. Burke was an on-site start-up engineer and then a project leader for seven years with a large engineering design and manufacturing company in the industrial energy sector. Mr. Burke has an M.B.A. and an engineering degree. Congratulations to Mr. Burke on his successful appointment and we wish him all the best in his new job.
We extend our best wishes to Tim Norris, outgoing Director of the Industrial Programs Division, in his new pursuits and thank him for his vision and guidance over the last 14 months.
Improving energy efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
