Babcock Africa partners with NCPC-SA to unlock sustainable gains As part of its plans to reduce environmental impacts, Babcock Africa has partnered with the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) to conduct resource-efficient and cleaner production (RECP) assessments across selected priority sites in South Africa, focusing on energy, water and waste management.
ists, these experts observed operations, col- lected resource-use data, established baselines and identified opportunities across energy, water, material efficiency and waste streams at each priority site. Draft reports included identified initia- tives, action plans, estimated savings, ROI and payback periods. Final reports incor- porated Babcock’s feedback and included implementation guidance and monitoring recommendations. The RECP reports identified three catego - ries of opportunities:
• No-cost interventions. • Low-cost interventions.
• Medium to high investment interventions. Babcock Africa has begun implementing the no-cost and low-cost initiatives and continues to evaluate medium- to high-investment op- portunities. Importantly, NCPC-SA initiated a follow-up meeting after reviewing Babcock’s early progress and, impressed by the company’s self-funded implementation efforts of more than R500 000, offered additional technical support funding to accelerate further initiatives. Lindani and the NCPC-SA team expressed strong encouragement during this review, noting the quality and pace of implementation already achieved using internal resources. Water-related initiatives identified and/ or implemented include: • Retrofitting taps and showerheads with low-flow attachments. • Installing rainwater harvesting systems. • Converting toilets from single-flush to dual-flush systems. • Installing water sub-metering for monitor- ing and leak detection. • Reusing wash bay water instead of dis- charging to municipal systems. • Transitioning to water-wise landscaping. • Detailed water audits revealed several critical insights: • Fabrication site: The RECP assessment identified issues that, once corrected through repairs and system adjust- ments, resulted in a 63% reduction in monthly water consumption. Historical municipal billing records were found to be outdated or inaccurate, requiring reconciliation. • Bartlett site: The NCPC-SA assessment highlighted inconsistencies between operational water use and the histori- cally billed volume of 4 775 kl/month. To verify actual consumption, Babcock installed a private water meter. The me- ter immediately confirmed a significant leak, with actual usage measuring ap- proximately 210 kl/month. Consumption dropped from 4 775 kl to 210 kl within a month, validating the assessment find - ings and enabling rapid corrective action.
Babcock Africa has partnered with the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) to conduct resource-efficient and cleaner production (RECP) assessments across selected priority sites in South Africa, focusing on energy, water and waste management.
F ollowing an assessment process by the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) across selected sites, Babcock Africa has em- barked on an implementation programme that begins with low- and no-cost interventions, with notable early successes. In today’s business world, environmental stewardship has shifted from a statutory re- quirement to a strategic necessity. With this in mind, the Babcock International Group is advancing its ‘Plan Zero 40’ ambition to transi- tion to a net-zero emissions organisation across all operations by 2040. The company is an inau- gural signatory of the UK Defence ESG Charter and has aligned with the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Pledge. As part of this strategy, responsible resource management is now embedded into products, processes and operations. For Babcock Africa, the immediate priority is to drive sustainable performance across three fronts: energy effi - ciency, water stewardship and waste reduction. Through its partnership with NCPC-SA, a national support programme that accelerates South Africa’s transition to a green economy through resource efficiency and cleaner produc - tion (RECP) interventions, Babcock Africa has adopted a systematic and integrated approach to resource management and long-term envi- ronmental performance improvement. Babcock International recently published a suite of Environmental Commitments that outline the group’s intention to reduce envi- ronmental impact and carbon emissions across its global footprint. To better understand its current position and develop clear improve- ment roadmaps, Babcock Africa approached NCPC-SA for technical support.
NCPC-SA, funded by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), supports industrial and selected commercial sectors in adopting sustainable, efficient and competitive operat - ing practices. Lindani Ncwane, Senior Project Manager at NCPC-SA, explains: “Our goal is to support industry transition toward a green economy through resource efficiency, especially given South Africa’s reliance on coal-based energy. Through our collaboration with Babcock Africa, we provided technical expertise and highly subsidised financial support to conduct RECP assessments at priority sites to identify oppor- tunities to save water and energy and reduce waste generation.” Kea Tlhapane, Environmental Lead at Babcock Africa, adds that the partnership was established to address environmental impacts proactively. “Water assessments focused on high-consumption sites exceeding 1 mil- lion litres, while waste assessments initially prioritised operations generating more than 100 tonnes of waste. This allowed us to focus on the areas with the highest potential for improvement.” The RECP programme consists of two phases: detailed assessments and the imple- mentation phase, which is currently underway. The process began with engagement be- tween Babcock Africa’s senior leadership and NCPC-SA’s executive team to confirm project scope and alignment with NCPC-SA’s mandate. Once alignment was confirmed, independent RECP experts, appointed and funded by NCPC- SA, conducted detailed technical assessments. Working closely with Babcock SHE special-
34 ¦ MechChem Africa • January-February 2025
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker