Sunshine in Calendars All Year Round

Rose Calendars have recently entered the next phase in their move towards becoming a ‘green’ company by harnessing solar power through the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof of their factory in Colchester. The company expects to cut its total annual power consumption by 25%, and is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint.

In what is the first solar power installation on Severalls Business Park, Rose Calendars have installed 198 panels in a 50KW solar array on the roof of its production facility which will result in the company reducing their CO2 emissions by 60,000KG per annum.

Work began at the end of August, with the replacement firstly of the flat roof over the offices utilising a resin fiberglass coating resulting in a durable, long lasting surface. Once that had been completed, the scaffolding went up and the panels were installed on the south-west facing roofs on the rest of the building.

Mosscliff Environmental Ltd carried out the work, and spent two weeks at the factory working on the installation and worked very closely with Rose Calendars to ensure optimum position and performance of the panels, and to help the company become as green as possible and to harness solar energy at its full potential.

The Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panel technology works by converting sunlight into renewable electricity cost-effectively, this then attracts government Feed-In Tariff (FIT) incentive payments to businesses like Rose Calendars for the environmentally efficient power they have generated.

Initial results are very encouraging. Within two weeks of the panels being installed, enough KW of power were generated to power 150 homes for a whole day. If the fine sunny weather continues, then a significant ‘harvest’ could be on the cards well into October.

Rose Calendars are passionate about reducing their CO2 emissions and take additional steps within the business to remain a ‘green’ company:

– Other materials which are recycled include:  all paper board, plastics, metal, chemicals and computer hardware through regeneration programmes.

– All paper and board is purchased through sustainable sources.

– Low energy light fittings in the factory have been installed to reduce power together with the use of a voltage optimiser.

– Used heat generated by machines is diverted into the factory during the winter months to aid heating the building and pumped outside during the summer.

This is a long term investment for Rose Calendars, with a return calculated over many years following a significant financial commitment. Managing Director Michael Rose said

“We are proud to be leading the way in reducing our environmental impact by using solar energy in the production of our promotional calendars. This is another vital step in our strategy to be environmentally friendly.”