2nd left is Mr. Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director of NBC and other Management team
…Company is changing trend from fossil fuel to renewable energy.
…NBC to earn carbon credit from its energy initiative.
-By Felix Douglas
Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd (NBC) has been making sustainable manufacturing and transition to renewable energy sources as a way of accelerating delivery of Net Zero Commitment.
At present, NBC has recorded positive strides as an organization in its journey towards sustainable operations.
The company is part of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company group (CCHBC) which has an uncompromising commitment to minimize environmental footprint whilst enriching the communities where it operates. In line with this, CCHBC has instigated a set of sustainability commitments ahead of 2025 that address six major areas including the reduction of emissions, water use and stewardship, working towards a world without waste, ingredients sourcing, nutrition, people, and communities.
Advancing towards these commitments, NBC has mainstreamed sustainability into every aspect of operations.
Speaking at the NBC Renewable Energy Initiative in the company’s plant in Lagos, Managing Director, Mr. Matthieu Seguin, stated that one of the major challenges facing sustainable manufacturing are carbon emissions from nonrenewable energy sources. This was also stated by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA),
“Decarbonisation of the energy sector requires urgent action on a global scale, and while a global energy transition is underway, further action is needed to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Renewable energy and energy efficiency measures can potentially achieve 90% of the required carbon reductions”.
He disclosed to journalists who were on a facility tour that NBC has eight manufacturing plants spread across the nation including the Ikeja plant which is the biggest Coca-Cola manufacturing facility in Africa.
“You would have observed that it’s a huge construction site as we are making significant investments to make it one of the best in the world.
We have taken this challenge of climate change heads-on and over the years, have been investing in solutions which have enabled us to make significant advancements in our focus areas of energy use reduction, water use reduction, emissions reduction, and waste generation reduction.”
“Evolution to Hybrid Solar Power for our Manufacturing Operations from 2020, we commenced the process of evolving all of our manufacturing plants to be powered in part by renewable solar energy. Today, we can boast of the fact that 50% of our manufacturing plants are now powered in part by solar energy with the photovoltaic cells delivering up to 3,640-Kilowatt peak power output (KWp) to the facilities.”
Seguin disclosed that hybrid power set up in NBC plants allow them to substitute national power grid and generator backups to the extent of available solar generated power, thereby reducing the consumption of power from less environmentally friendly sources. The four manufacturing plants which have since gone live with this technology are located in Maiduguri, Abuja, Asejire in Oyo State and Challawa, Kano.
He explained that further installations will continue through this year 2022, to ensure even more sustainable growth across the NBC ecosystem. By the end of 2022, when the solar power installations would have been implemented in four remaining manufacturing plants in Ikeja, Benin, Owerri and Port Harcourt; overall the company will be powering its manufacturing operations with up to 15,947 KWp from Solar Energy which is equivalent to the power required to power over 2,170 standard three-bedroom homes.
Together, the existing installations translate to an annual carbon footprint reduction of over 3,600 tons, with the capacity for expansion in the future. Beyond the direct impact on reduced emissions, another indirect positive outcome of this project is that over 167,000 trees have been saved and through the evolution and the implementation; supported the creation of 300 jobs with an additional 480 jobs forecasted to be created in support of the system this year.
“Today, we will show you some of our initiatives. We will have the opportunity to take a tour of one of our sustainable manufacturing solutions here in Ikeja plant after this briefing. Before then, please see this short video which showcases our solar solution and its impact in the 4 NBC plants where it is implemented so far.”
The NBC Managing Director pointed out that another area it is optimizing its operations through technology is through heavy investments in Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHP) plants.
With the technology of the CHP, after electricity is generated using gas to power the gas generators in the plant, the resultant exhaust gas and heat is redirected from going into atmosphere to generate steam. The heat from the steam is used as a secondary energy source to further power some aspects of manufacturing operations.
“Today, we have 6 CHP plants in 5 of our 8 manufacturing plants including Port-Harcourt, Ikeja, Benin, Owerri and Asejire Plants, all resulting in a significant reduction of our carbon footprints across the country. Overall, the 6 CHP plants generate 25.5Mw of power delivering 125,267MWh of electrical energy including 68,267MWh as steam energy, as a bye product, which without the CHP would have been produced with fossil fuel. The amount of energy generated by our CHP plants is capable of powering over 11,300 standard 3-bedroom homes. These plants have reduced CO2 emissions by as much as 71,883 Tons and saved over 3,333,000 trees.”
Collectively, the business invests over 1.7 billion naira in running the 6 CHPs annually.
Seguin asserted that there are other sustainable manufacturing initiatives deployed by NBC in the recent past. For instance, in 2008, the company launched light-weighted packaging campaign, with the rollout of Ultra glass bottle, marking a major shift from the regular bottles. It has not only resulted in 16% weight reduction of 50cl bottles and 14% of the 35cl range, but it has also led to significant CO2 emission reduction.
Similarly, the company has embarked on fleet conversion/replacement to CNG trucks. Already, it has introduced ten of these trucks to its fleet, which is delivering cumulative CO2 emission savings of 17 Tons every month. NBC constraint is availability of CNG, which limits acceleration of the number of these vehicles in its fleet.
NBC has also started transitioning its diesel-powered forklifts to models which are powered by electricity; contributing further to CO2 emissions savings as a business.
109 forklifts have transitioned, with a plan for all 200 forklifts used in the business to be transitioned by the end of 2022.
The CCHBC group has commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.
“We are pleased that we are already working our way towards achieving this goal in NBC. By constantly retooling our production processes, adopting global best practices and leveraging new technology to optimize our operations, NBC aims to continue solidifying its footing as a champion of sustainable manufacturing in Nigeria.”
Reacting to NBC zero emissions commitment, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Agbenla, Federal Controller of Environment in Lagos, Federal Ministry of Environment (FME), eulogized the company efforts on sustainable manufacturing.
According to Agbenla, sustainable manufacturing from FME point of view is taking care of present generation without mortgaging the future.
“You cannot have sustainable manufacturing without taking into account other cogent factors. This is the focus in environmental impact assessment and counting the cost is paramount. That way you will be able to look into many things, how to minimize waste and reduce environmental impact with foot print.”
“We will be deceiving ourselves if we say there is no climate change, the world has moved and the earlier we do something about it, the better for us.”
The Federal Controller of Environment, said NBC can earn carbon credit from its energy initiative.
FME encourages any company who wants to be involved in sustainable manufacturing to imbibe in energy use reduction towards renewable. This is sustainable and a positive gesture which will engender energy use reduction and generation of waste.
Agbenla stated that manufacturers should consider production and process design to control waste. FME wants facilities to improve in industries, competitiveness and efficiency with protection in mind.
“Creating conditions and incentives that will stimulate use of efficient technology for a cleaner environment. Optimizing the use of natural resources thereby minimizing environmental impact. There is reward for good environmental practice and it is better to be proactive than reactive. The cost of cleanup is expensive and can be prevented.”
She urged NBC to continue on the trend and shifting from fossil fuel to renewable energy is a welcome development.
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