Transforming a thirsty, power-hungry business

Using the Sustainability Advantage program

In an industry known for its voracious use of water and power, Edstein Creative Stone is showing how eco-friendly manufacturing practices respect our environment and save money.

Located at Taree, Edstein uses technology, software and modern machinery to manufacture traditional stone for monuments and architectural stone for building. Everything is computerised. The downside of this cutting-edge approach is high energy consumption.

“We knew we could improve,” says Edstein Creative Stone CEO, Nigel Ferguson. “We just needed the right strategy.”

In 2009, Edstein joined Sustainability Advantage to reduce waste, cut its use of water and power and save money. Electricity and water were the biggest expenses. Following an increase in charges, Edstein was facing 16% annual growth in water costs over the next five years.

“Apart from the fact that we have an environmental conscience, and it was wrong to simply use more water, we wanted to reduce our consumption to save money,’ said Ferguson.

Edstein exceeded expectations. Initially, the firm cut its water use by 97% - from 24.5 ML per year to 0.6 ML. Now, the company does not draw any water from the main water supply.

This is possible by harvesting rainwater from the large factory roof into a 250,000 L tank - the company’s new water source.

Edstein consumed about 280 MW hours of electricity in 2009 at a cost of $66,000. An Energy Saver audit revealed ways for Edstein to reduce this by 105.7 MW hours per annum - a saving of $28,600.

The main areas where Edstein will save energy are through its compressed air system and lighting. For quality control, the craftsmen require high lighting levels to detect blemishes in the stone they manufacture and prevent flawed product leaving the factory.

Edstein will replace its 400 W mercury vapour high-bay lighting with more energy efficient 85 W compact fluorescent fittings to save $10,000 per year. Also, Edstein has installed power factor correction to save $6000 annually.

Instead of sending 32 t of stone offcuts to landfill every month, the company recycles all of its stone waste for re-use as decorative aggregate. Paper, cardboard and plastic wrap from process generated waste is also recycled. All of the company’s internal information systems are also paperless. The improvements in water, electricity and stone waste recycling alone equates to an annual saving of more than $75,000.

“The light bulb moment for us came with completing the Sustainability Advantage Environmental risk and responsibility module,” Ferguson said. “When we looked at the Protection of the Environment Operations Act, the ramifications of causing environmental damage far outweigh any other risk to our business. Few businesses appreciate what this means.”

Ferguson is proud of the company’s achievements. “We thought we could save some water and a bit of power and it would all be driven by management,” he said. “But the changes have been driven by every person in the company and the results are staggering.

“The entire Sustainability Advantage team has been awesome. The program has made change easy for us. The meetings are delivered on site, they are relevant to our company, they deal with real life experience and they show how you can develop solutions. It’s invaluable.”