Industries Cutting Down on their Carbon Print

The need for clean energy is becoming more apparent everyday

Photos by John Hamlin

It is now evident that humans have steadily developed due to the excesses of energy sources at our disposal during this current period. Since the period of industrialization, living standards have improved due to a surplus in products. Industries were reliant on fossil fuels such as coal and oil to drive machines in industrial production.

The incentives to prefer clean energy brought about technological innovations such as solar energy and hydroelectricity. Sunlight could now be harnessed to provide electrical power while moving water in rivers is channeled through turbines to produce electricity.

Photo by John Hamlin

As countries improve their electric grid systems, most factories have been slowly switching to electric-powered machines that are cleaner, having less carbon print. In the case of power outages, fuel generators are employed to back up electricity to the factories but they increase gas wastes that affect the carbon print.

In most countries, the rules on wastes from factories (carbon print) are clear, having limits on the amounts of carbon wastes allowed per year. This, usually, is a form of environmental policy that is enforced by the government to control the factories.

Other countries that have no environmental policies would usually try to do their own thing, but to have international recognition, they would involve themselves in projects that will cut down on their carbon footprint. These are normally projects associated with electric power or solar, or investment in new technology such as the hydrogen cell.

Methods employed in cutting down the burning of fossil fuels

Most of the methods that will be listed are mostly because of policies that the world government has implemented as environmental concerns have increased. The government needs to ensure that the future generation will have a sustainable environment that can support life for both humans and animals.

These are:

• Fuel switching – most factories used fossil fuels for energy to run the factories. These are coal and oil, which when burned to run the factories, produce a lot of smoke. Companies have opted for the switch to electricity. This electricity is either from solar energy or hydroelectric power.

Photo by John Hamlin

• Different delivery strategies – there was a point where deliveries were made as quickly as possible to create space for more production. Most companies have opted to work with demand, where they produce when the product is needed. There are also new incentives such as ‘bike more and drive less’ where deliveries now use bicycles to reduce petrol use. This is however done for small products. Heavy products will need trucks hence companies will use hybrid trucks that are more fuel-efficient. Volvo trucks anyone?

• Research and development of renewable energy – companies have been investing in new technologies that are more reliable and stable, providing a lot of energy consistently. This has led to such new concepts and ideas as fusion energy which is still in development. The hydrogen cell is also part of the new technology in development. Hydrogen burns cleanly to form water vapor. Am sure there is nothing cleaner than that.

• Recycling industrial wastewater – most companies should opt to reduce, reuse, and recover most of the industrial water around the production process. This does ease the pressure on purifying water and does favor the forests and forest cover.

• Learning to adapt to climate change – most companies should learn about the causes and effects of humans triggered by climate change. And with the resultant changes, learn ways that can help mitigation of the problems. This would mainly lead to planting trees exercise which does do more good for the environment.

• Reduction in air conditioning in factories – most of the companies still use air conditioners to control the temperature within the factories. The better method is to have a proper windows system to aid with cooling and insulators to aid with the heating of the factories. Excessive use of electricity is also wasteful and if the companies can be efficient with electricity use, it may go a long way in reducing the carbon footprint.

• Spotlight on partnerships that encourage innovation – the usual teamwork standards are to motivate each other. Partners can then work together in curbing the greenhouse mess produced by their factories and work on reducing them collectively.

• Encourage the use of public transportation – most companies can have a shared bus that picks the workers as it ferries them to the place of work. This will cut down on excessive fuel consumption if everyone is to use their cars to travel to work. With such and similar incentives, the companies will cut down on their carbon print.

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