Rose Calendars Lead the Way in Reducing Carbon Foot Print
Posted on 12/11/2014
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. By installing 198 panels in a 50KW solar array on the roof of its production facility the company will be reducing their CO2 emissions by 60,000KG per annum.
The company expects to cut its total annual power consumption by 25%, and is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint.
Rose Calendars are the UK's largest producer of promotional business calendars within the B2B market. Being passionate about reducing their CO2 emissions they are taking additional steps within the business to remain a ‘green’ company.
Sustainably Sourced Paper
All of the pictorial and commercial wall calendars are produced using paper from sustainable sources. This means the mills the paper is purchased from are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified and encourage management of forestry resources in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable way.
Recycled Mailers
All of the mailing cartons being used by Rose Calendars are produced using recycled board and to highlight this fact a ‘Recycled’ logo is embossed onto the reverse of the carton.
Recyclability
Recycling the calendar after its use is just as important as using recycled materials. Every Rose pictorial calendar includes recycling instructions, shown on the reverse of the December leaf, which will encourage every customer to recycle them so the paper may be re-used again. All paper board, plastics, metal, chemicals and computer hardware are recycled through regeneration programmes.
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.
Installation
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.
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 the autumn.
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.”
Rose Calendars October 2014
www.rosecalendars.co.uk
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