GKN Driveline has formed a European Environment Team with representatives from each plant in the region. A workshop was held in Birmingham in February 2012 to share best practice, develop relationships and agree key actions for the coming year to reduce energy consumption. The focus was on quick wins to prove the benefit of this approach. A key outcome from the workshop was the identification of an opportunity to introduce 22 or 30 W LED lighting to replace the T8 fluorescent lamp technology, enabling up to 70% reduction in energy usage. The lights can also be retrofitted, which means that existing lamp holders and fittings can be used, enabling the economic replacement of T8 tubes.
Consequently the retrofit LED lighting project across all plants started in 2012 and will be completed in 2013. The completed project for the UK Birmingham plant will have an annual saving of over 1,000 MWh, which equates to heating over 200 homes for a year or a £100,000 cost saving.
