Case study: energy accreditation boosts efficiency

Tata Global Beverages is the second largest tea company in the world, and 250 million servings of its brands – which include Tetley – are consumed every day around the globe.

The company has a factory in Eaglescliffe on Teesside, as well as plants in India, Russia and the Czech Republic.

Tata says its belief in certification as a route to greater business efficiency explains why, in addition to ISO 14001, the company sought ISO 50001, which requires sustained improvement in energy efficiency and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Serious matter

“Certification is sometimes required by customers in our industry sector, and they show we are serious about following best practice, not just paying lip service to it,” says Denise Graham, the company’s technical manager.

“Certification also stands us in good stead with food industry regulators, as we can prove easily that we’re meeting – exceeding even – the standards required.

Certification is sometimes required by customers in our industry sector, and they show we are serious about following best practice, not just paying lip service to it

Denise Graham, technical manager, Tata Global Beverages

“Whereas ISO 14001 is a generic standard for the environment, ISO 50001 focuses on the cost benefits of using utilities more efficiently. The business case for it is clear.”

Graham, who has overseen the accreditation, says she is clear about their purpose.

“We don’t trumpet our standards…for us, they’re a business tool, there to drive performance; a framework on which to drive and formalise business practices.”

It’s also about maintaining best practice, she adds. “The audit processes ensure we’re on track and that our policies and procedures are robust.”

Great savings

The assessment required as part of the certification process showed that 96% of the energy used at the factory was electricity.

“The detailed analysis of that usage enabled us to identify potential cost savings across both the base and variable load,” she says.

Each standard costs it around £6,000 to £9,000 a year to gain and maintain, but a series of projects, including fitting intelligence software to compressors to help them work more efficiently, saw the company make overall savings of £56,000 in the first year, and £28,000 the second year.

“We may well have made some of those savings without certification, but it focused our minds and helped us to achieve the savings more speedily,” says Graham.

She adds that the continual drive for improvement is one of the key benefits. “ISO 50001 requires new energy initiatives every year. You can’t wriggle out of it because of competing business priorities.” The strategy has already paid off, by reducing the company’s £750,000 annual energy bill.

“ISO 14001 provides a framework for our continued attention to environmental issues – we’ve just reduced water consumption by 20%, for instance.”

We don’t trumpet our standards…for us, they’re a business tool, there to drive performance; a framework on which to drive and formalise business practices

It also helped to achieve consistency in the production process, she adds.

“If you don’t have them and you don’t have the rigorous audit process associated with them, you could lose control of your processes quite easily and not even realise.”

Tata’s efforts have also been recognised externally, and its Eaglescliffe factory won Judges’ Special Award at the Best Factory Awards 2014.

Leading the way

Graham says the training provided by the British Standards Institution, including in auditing, has helped Tata’s team.

“My technical team have gained such a good understanding of what’s required that most of us are now lead auditors in at least one of the disciplines,” she says.

“I can carry out external audits in quality and food safety at our suppliers’ premises, and that drives great improvements in to our business as a result.”

This article was sourced from BSI (British Standards Institution).