Green no more?
OPINION: Your old mate has long dismissed the Greens as wooden bicycle enthusiasts with their heads in the clouds, but it looks like the ‘new Greens’ may actually be hard-nosed pragmatists when it comes to following voters.
Also busy at it is the tyre manufacturer Trelleborg, working on its factories to meet the challenges of climate change.
For example, it is completely re-engineering its Sri Lanka factory’s steam raising plant by installing an advanced biomass boiler. Steam is essential in tyre curing, but the traditional oil-fired boiler burns 3.5 million litres of oil annually and emits 11,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
Trelleborg’s biomass-fired boiler will cut the plant’s CO2 emission to 1000t of CO2 . It will be commissioned next month.
The plant near Colombo employs 850 people and makes solid tyres for the materials handling and port industries, and pneumatic tyres for light farming applications.
Biomass for the boiler will be supplied by local producers, so shortening the supply line, further reducing the carbon footprint and supporting the local economy.
The work is an aspect of Trelleborg’s Blue Dimension approach to sustainability, combining environmental benefits with benefits for the customers such as higher efficiency and productivity.
