VEKA 'green' efficiencies bring huge rewards

VEKA's strategy to reduce landfill of its general waste has resulted in a landfill cost reduction of 60%.

Whilst many individuals and organisations struggle to even embrace the concepts of energy efficiency, environmental awareness and effective waste management, leading window and door systems supplier VEKA plc has developed a full management strategy that has brought huge commercial and financial returns for the company, in addition of course to doing its bit for the environment.

With the ever-increasing cost of landfill effective waste management has clear and well-documented benefits.

VEKA's strategy to reduce landfill of its general waste - especially packaging - by a series of measures that include recycling, finding new and more efficient recycling contractors and re-designed and reduced packaging both of its own products and from suppliers, has resulted in a landfill cost reduction of 60% compared to last year - in cost terms tens of thousands of pounds.

VEKA Group is also one of the world's most advanced recyclers of PVC-U and as a matter of course VEKA plc returns all of its scrap extrusions back into new profiles.

Its customers, in the meantime, are being encouraged to utilise the new post consumer and off-cut PVC-U waste transfer station established near Dartford in Kent by Veka Recycling .

This in turn supplies pre-processed material to the huge, advanced recycling plant at Behringen in Germany.

Energy costs for all of us are climbing faster than we can anticipate which for businesses such as VEKA can have a catastrophic impact on overheads, compounded of course by the increases imposed by suppliers similarly affected.

From September 1st this year however, VEKA's target for energy consumption for its extrusion process - which accounts for 80% of the company's energy costs - is reduced by 45% - a figure the company is confident it will achieve following historical success.

A huge and increasingly unmanageable burden for any company with a delivery fleet - vehicle fuel costs - is being dealt with by converting VEKA's distinctive trucks to run on an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and Diesel mix, which will reduce fuel costs by 10%.

As they are replaced, new vehicles will be selected for their fuel efficiency.

VEKA have just taken delivery of 4 new high volume trailers which are capable of carrying 14% more product than the current trailers.

Delivery routing is continuously reviewed and managed to achieve cost benefits whilst maintaining - and improving where possible - delivery service efficiency for customers.

To enhance the delivery experience, VEKA have increased the truck mounted forklift fleet and are currently trialing the vehicles over more and more deliveries to gauge the benefit to both VEKA and the customer.

Other newer efficiencies being sought include the monitoring and targeting of air and water services use with other energy management practices in effect throughout the company's huge head office site at Burnley, in the offices, factory and distribution centre.

Heating and air conditioning are similarly being managed.

"The culture of energy and waste efficiency is now ingrained in everyone that works here," says Dave Jones, Managing Director of VEKA plc.

"This is not a new concept at VEKA and is based upon the need to improve efficiencies throughout the business as a matter of course, not just because we have seen such a huge rise in costs in the past year".

"We are ahead of the game compared to many companies in business generally, who perhaps still regard energy efficiency and waste reduction as an uncomfortable if necessary concept," observes Dave.

"We are delighted with the very tangible achievements and returns to our bottom line, without which the impact would be very damaging to our business.".

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