Energy

Raising awareness
After-effects of the worldwide financial and economic crisis could still be felt in some areas in 2011. In this reporting year they affected among other things energy consumption and generated waste. Nevertheless, the company was able to implement continuous and targeted improvements. For example, in the tesa plant in Offenburg, the project begun in 2009 “Active Environmental Protection through Reduced Waste and Energy Use” continued successfully. Under the motto “Small steps, big impact”, employees contributed numerous suggestions for improvements for the third year running, resulting in 20 individual projects in 2011.

Following on from 2010, the Offenburg plant realized further energy-saving projects in the current reporting year. For instance, lighting in the warehouses and production facilities was modernized on an ongoing basis, resulting in annual energy savings of more than 260 megawatt hours. Within the framework of another project, ramps and loading bays at a warehouse were insulated. The plant expects energy savings of approximately 120 megawatt hours per year starting in 2012. The location continued to replace the activated carbon in two adsorbers used for waste air purification. This led to a significant increase in efficiency and will result in annual energy savings of around 425 megawatt hours. Finally, in November, redundant energy supply lines (steam and condensation lines) were decommissioned and dismantled. This is expected to lead to annual energy savings of around 175 megawatt hours starting in 2012.

In 2011, further energy-saving projects were on the agendas of other tesa locations. One example of this is an extremely successful project in Suzhou (China), where process control parameters for the thermal post-combustion facility were optimized to such an extent that it was possible to achieve an energy saving of around 2,200 megawatt hours. At the same location, the replacement of old bulbs and fluorescent tubes with modern LED lamps led to an annual reduction in energy consumption by approximately 100 megawatt hours.

Two comprehensive energy-saving projects were also successfully completed in the Italian tesa plant in 2011. The optimization of a solvent recycling plant, including the renewal of the activated carbon and replacement of the existing cooling towers, is expected to result in a reduction in energy consumption of around 20 percent (approx. 2,700 megawatt hours) compared to 2010 starting next year. The plant is expecting a further reduction of xxx megawatt hours per year through the installation of a new high energetic performance hot-water heater. The state-of-the-art ventilation system installed and commissioned in 2010 at tesa’s Hamburg-Hausbruch plant is proving significantly more efficient than initially assumed. Instead of the originally estimated 500 megawatt hours, it was possible to save as much as 800 megawatt hours during the current reporting year. In 2011, the plant also replaced the existing street lighting with modern LED technology. This is expected to lead to annual energy savings of around 70 megawatt hours. In the course of maintenance measures, the plant also replaced four of the previously unregulated heat circulation pumps with new, energy-efficient speed-controlled models. As a result of this measure, the plant anticipates a further reduction by approx. 120 megawatt hours.

The comprehensive technical modernization of the ventilation system and the corresponding system control facilities in the technology center of tesa SE was also brought to a successful conclusion. Starting in 2012, we anticipate annual savings in energy consumption of over 3,000 megawatt hours with a simultaneous reduction of CO2 emissions by around 700 metric tons. Due to the positive experience to date, the measure will be extended to include the cellar rooms. The entire project has received a subsidy commitment from the Hamburg Authority for Urban Development and Environmental Affairs.