Together, systematic energy management, strong team leadership, a smart investment strategy and engaged employees achieved outstanding energy performance at Vallenoncello.
In 2014, Vallenoncello, the Electrolux Professional factory in Italy, became an Electrolux Sustainability Award finalist. The award recognizes outstanding work that contributes to the Group’s global sustainability leadership position and shows how sustainability brings tangible value to shareholders, customers, consumers and employees.
In delivering excellent Green Spirit performance, the Vallenoncello team piloted new technologies and implemented best practice from plants around the world. Energy use per unit dropped by 25% from 2013, and in 2012 solar energy systems were installed to produce both electricity and heat, reducing climate impact. The plant is the first in the Group to be certified to the new energy management standard, ISO 50000. Implementing the Green Spirit program reduced product costs and strengthened employee trust.
We asked the team about their success:
Maintenance workers, who understand in detail how facilities work, give us some really good ideas. We’ve also established 10 energy-saving teams across the factory.
We have meters for electricity, gas and water, thermometers and a flowmeter for compressed air, all connected to a user-friendly software interface. Through energy savings, the system payback was one year.
It’s important to define a strong project leader who is very familiar with the facilities, and a budget for implementation.