Rokbak is a big advocate for sustainable operations, as highlighted by managing director Paul Douglas at a recent “net zero” manufacturing conference.
Douglas presented at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland’s (NMIS) Manufacturing a Net Zero Future conference in November, at about the same time as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Climate change is a challenge that everyone on the planet must tackle, and everyone has a role to play,” Douglas said. “In manufacturing, we have a huge responsibility in reducing the impacts of climate change by creating new products which have zero emissions, and using new manufacturing techniques and processes in a carbon neutral or carbon negative way.”
The hauler manufacturer has developed a strategy to live up to its sustainable standards which involves five key principles:
- Doing more with less.
- Designing out waste and pollution.
- Having a responsible and a holistic mindset.
- Reducing reliance on hazardous and rare substances.
- Prioritising collaboration, partnership and knowledge sharing.
As a member of the Volvo Group of Companies, Rokbak aims to produce net zero carbon emissions by 2040, while striving to achieve a carbon neutral supply chain by 2050.
Along this timeline, Rokbak is confident its customers and their customers can decarbonise in plenty of time.
To satisfy the first of its five principles, however, Rokbak’s Motherwell plant in Scotland is developing ways to reduce its energy and material use.
The company explained this began with a green tariff in 2019.
“The contract includes a Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificate to ensure all electricity delivered to the site genuinely comes from renewable sources – and is anticipated to reduce the plant’s carbon footprint by 900 tonnes per year,” a Rokbak release read.
The plant is also working on its natural gas consumption, which is planned to be mitigated by a transition to electric systems and a green gas contract to be finalised in 2022.
“Rokbak is entirely committed to making a difference in environmental care through better sustainability for our factory and our products,” Douglas said. “Our industry, and the wider manufacturing segment, is full of brilliant minds and it’s exciting to think of the changes we can make if we apply ourselves fully.
“At the same time it’s important that we work together, driving towards a common goal to help tackle the world’s climate emergency.”
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