Transcript Slide 1

Evolving Role of EHS Manager in Industrial
Sustainability Programs:
Case studies incorporating a pollution prevention approach to problem solving
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
May 3, 2011
Anahita Williamson, Ph.D., Director, NYP2I
Research Faculty, GIS
David Fister, Senior Engineer, NYSP2I
Rajiv Ramchandra, Staff Engineer, NYSP2I
Funding provided by NYSDEC
New York State Pollution Prevention Institute
(NYSP2I)
Vision & Mission
Vision:
The vision of the NYS P2I is to foster the transformation and development of
sustainable businesses and organizations in New York State in a collaborative
program committed to making the State a leader in environmental stewardship.
Mission:
The mission of the Institute is to provide a high-impact, comprehensive and
integrated program of technology research development and diffusion,
outreach, training and education aimed at making New York State more
sustainable for workers, the public, the environment and the economy
through:
• reductions in toxic chemical use
• reductions in emissions to the environment and waste generation
• the efficient use of raw materials, energy and water
NYS Pollution Prevention Institute
- Statewide Coverage
- Committed Partnerships
NYSP2I
Research &
Development
Led by Technical
Advisory
Committee (TAC)
Four Partner
Universities:
•Clarkson
•RIT
•RPI
•University at
Buffalo
Short & Longterm research
Direct Assistance
Facilitate the use
of P2 for solving
environmental
problems
Assessment &
Implementation
LE2:
Lean/Energy/
Environment
Community
Grants
Provide financial
& technical
support to
community
organizations
•Raise awareness
& understanding
of P2
Tangible results towards…
Professional
Training/
Outreach
Sector Projects
Workshops &
Training
conducted for
clients
Projects that have
the potential to
impact NYS on a
high level
Areas of interest
for stakeholders
•Dry Cleaning
Specific Training
Design for
the
Environment
& Life-Cycle
Assessment
•Hospitality
•E-waste
•Auto body shops
…a sustainable New York!
Sustainability
Brundtland Commission: Convened by United Nations in 1983
•
•
Commission created to address growing concern ‘about the accelerating
deterioration of the human environment & natural resources and the
consequences of that deterioration for economic & social development’
Recognized that environmental problems were global in nature & determined that
it was the common interest of all nations to establish policies for sustainable
development
– "..development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs“
Green engineering:
– The design, commercialization, and use of processes and products,
which are feasible and economical while minimizing
1) generation of pollution at the source
2) risk to human health and the environment
Emerging Role of EHS Manager
• Companies expanding focus from ‘end of pipe’ solutions to a
P2 approach or sustainable production
• EHS Manager:
– Traditional Approach:
• Regulatory, Compliance & Treatment
– Emerging Approach:
• EMS, ISO, Metrics collection
– Pollution Prevention Approach:
• Integration with Manufacturing team, focus on cost reduction & process
optimization
• Not ‘business as usual’
• EHS Manager role highly dependent on company’s level of
environmental commitment
• NYSP2I has worked with multiple companies on
environmental approach
• EHS Managers working at all sizes of companies (small,
medium & large) face challenges in this regard
Sustainability Continuum: Evolution
of the Role of EHS Manager
No knowledge of
sustainable practices
Medium adoption of
sustainable practices
Needed to transition:
1. Basic training on sustainability
2. Development of sustainability
team
3. Assessment of practices or
processes beyond regulatory
framework
4. ‘Low-hanging fruit’ projects
and quick wins
High adoption of
sustainable practices
Needed to transition:
1. Industry/process specific
training on sustainable
practices or technologies
2. Implementation of new
processes or technologies
3. Outside consultant assistance
4. Capital expenditure
Sustainability Continuum: Drivers
Influencing the Journey
No knowledge of
sustainable practices
Medium adoption of
sustainable practices
High adoption of
sustainable practices
External Drivers
Internal Drivers
1. Changing market expectations
2. Availability of assessment
programs and incentives
through
government/academic
institutions
3. Voluntary sustainability
certification programs
4. Forthcoming regulations
5. New markets
6. Competition
1. Financial burden of
‘managing’ problem as
opposed to eliminating it
2. Internal competition between
facilities
3. Corporate sustainability
commitment
4. Change in leadership
5. Adoption/invention of new
process/technology
6. Employee driven initiatives
EHS Manager Role & Company Size
• Small-Medium Sized Companies
– Minority are very proactive and associating waste streams as an
opportunity vs. a part of the process (Children’s Manufacturer, Green
Supply Chain)
– Majority are very tight on resources and challenged to make
sustainability a priority
– Economic turbulence has companies focusing on staying in business &
don’t consider sustainable practices an ‘investment’
– Viewing waste as ‘waste’ & not as an ‘improvement opportunity’ can
hinder company’s competitiveness in the field
• Large Companies
– Typically have EHS Divisions with focuses on environmental media
(i.e.- water, air, hazardous waste)
– EHS Manager supportive of manufacturing for years with a regulatorycompliance role (relationship may be strained)
– Low ROI or payback
– ISO 14001 has assisted in building relationship
– EHS Manager needs to build credibility and integrate on
manufacturing team to drive P2 projects
EHS Manager & P2 Approach
• EHS Manager needs to integrate himself/herself on manufacturing team
to fully understand inputs, outputs, waste streams & by-products of
system
Effective Steps for EHS Managers when implementing P2 solutions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Build strong working relations with manufacturing or operations, a collaborative vs.
regulatory approach
Educate key personnel on benefits of pollution prevention & sustainability initiatives –
through training programs, or attending conferences
Focus on the direct impact to the bottom line to obtain buy-in from both management and
manufacturing personnel
Metrics: Develop the baseline; quantify the current state of the process (often entails
material and energy input-output analysis) in order to quantify future reductions
Identify opportunities for environmental and cost reduction
Prioritize opportunities (incorporate payback or ROI)
Seek out experts (consultants, universities, P2 organizations) to aid with prioritization,
assessments and implementations
Seek out funding opportunities (state, federal, other stakeholder organizations) to offset the
cost of implementing sustainable practices/technologies
TECT Corporation – Project Overview
About the Company:
• Manufactures titanium turbine blades
• Uses hazardous mixtures of hydrofluoric and nitric
acid to etch the titanium alloy used to manufacture
turbine blades
EHS Manager Role:
• Traditional, compliance-oriented
• Initially requested alternative disposal method to
reduce costs
Pollution Prevention Project:
• Generated 502 tons of hazardous waste in 2007 from chemical etching operations
used to manufacture blades
• Spent >$400K on purchase and disposal of etching acids in 2007
Results:
• Provided assistance to extend the bath life of etching acids, thereby reducing
generation of hazardous waste by 47% in 2009
• Full implementation of process improvements are expected to result in an 86%
reduction in hazardous waste and a 64% reduction in operating costs
Food Manufacturer
About the Company: Located in Western New York serving a variety of market segments in
terms of product type and geography
•
Driven/facilitated by Corporate commitment to sustainability
•
Actively seeking to reduce the quantity of resources such as raw material, energy and water utilized
in their manufacturing process by increasing process efficiencies
•
Concurrently seeking to reduce the amount of waste:
–
–
–
Solid waste (product and packaging)
Wastewater discharge
Labor time
EHS Manager Role:
•
EHS Role shared between two positions:
–
–
•
Environmental Coordinator
Health and Safety Manager
As a result the Environmental Coordinator:
–
–
–
Continues to be responsible for the tracking and regulatory reporting requirements in relation to wastes
Has greater latitude and flexibility in engaging directly and deeply with production operators/operations
Is able to take a proactive approach in improving the sustainability performance of the company
Food Manufacturer
Pollution Prevention project:
•
The total annual solid waste disposal cost incurred by the entire facility (which is comprised of 2 industrial
units, for 2 product groups) was ~$500,000 in 2009
•
One product group (which consists of 3 different products and have similar manufacturing processes) has
high material costs and the average cost of raw material lost per ton of waste generated is $1000
•
Total economic loss (including tipping fees + transportation costs + cost of lost raw material) as a result of
solid waste generation from the facility is greater than $1 million annually
•
Primary solid waste generated from the product
group with high raw material costs is organic
food waste and one process step (Step A)
contributes to nearly 60% of the waste
generated
•
Data gathering process and analysis was greatly
facilitated by the strong working relationship
between the Environmental Coordinator and
production personnel
Specialty Fish Processor
About the Company: Located in New York City and
produces various specialty fish products such as
smoked salmon. They purchase frozen fish and thaw
them with city water as the first processing step. They
use approximately 30 million gallons of water per year
at a cost of $245,000.
Sustainability project details:
• Energy consultant determined the amount of heat
available from an on-site CHP system
• NYSP2I developed fish thawing models
• Company ran fish thawing tests
• Documented incoming city water temperatures: 54ºF
average for 2009 with a low of 35ºF
Results: The analysis determined:
Additional waste heat from the CHP can provide
enough hot water to thaw fish year round with 63ºF
water. The estimated water use would become 7.5
million gallons per year at a cost of $57,000.
• Water reduction of ~75%.
• Cost savings of $188,000 per year
EHS - Fish Processor
• For this company, their size could not support an EHS position.
• The pollution prevention approach focused on reducing the
water volume while still providing good food thawing
practices.
– The owners recognized that water costs were a large portion of the facility
budget.
– Had already implemented a CHP system to improve their electric and water
heating costs (hot water used in their equipment cleaning operation).
– Needed guidance & engineering assistance to determine the technical
feasibility and economics reducing their water conservation.
Plating Job Shop 1
About the Company: The company resides in Rochester and has multiple plating and finishing
lines. Each line has its dedicated rinse tanks. The company had implemented an acid
reduction project 6 years earlier which was very successful.
Pollution Prevention project:
• Interest in reducing their city water use by various means including
–
–
Rain water harvesting - provide a small benefit to the city since the storm drains and sewers both go
to the POTW. During heavy rains the POTW struggles to treat the high water volumes entering the
system.
Water use reduction - Not a regulatory concern but would make the company more sustainable and
would have an economic advantage as well.
Results:
• Baseline water consumption was 7.6 million gallons per year.
• The primary water use in their facility was in the rinse tanks. Flow measurements were made
by the NYSP2I on rinse tanks for three of their lines. It was found that they could reduce
their water use by about 18% (1.4 million gallons) by implementing what is called reactive
rinsing.
• Rain water harvesting was not economically feasible due to the wide variation in rainfall
resulting in very sporadic availability.
EHS, Plating Job Shop 1
The EHS responsibilities were divided between two people.
•
•
•
(1) Environmental (2) Health and Safety
Both reported to the Chairman of the company who feels very strongly about improving the
environmental footprint of the company
Challenge: Environmental staff was at a lower level than Health & Safety staff
– Did not feel empowered to push for sustainability-P2 initiatives (i.e.- better water use)
even though he knew there were opportunities
Reactive Rinsing Implementation:
Driver: Water savings
Initial annual water use = 7.6
million gallons per year
Annual savings = 1.4 million gallons
per year (18% reduction)
$7,700 savings per year for an
implementation cost of
approximately $1,000
Questions?