Turning waste into climate-friendly energy

Project Zero creates
green growth
A regional think tank in the
town of Sønderborg in southern
Jutland has launched a project
with the aim of making the area
CO2 neutral by 2029 and create
growth and green jobs. Many
positive results have already
been achieved.
By: Maren Urban Swart
Five years ago, the members of the think
tank FUTURA SYD set the objective of
creating growth in the energy industry,
which gave rise to ProjectZero which
aim is to make the Sønderborg area CO2
neutral by 2029, while creating a number
of green jobs.
“Many of the sub-projects have already
been carried out, and 50 green jobs
have been created in the construction industry
in association with investments in
heat pumps, district heating, insulation
and new windows,” says Peter Rathje,
managing director of ProjectZero.
“In the next two or three years the energy
efficiency improving project – ZE-
RObolig – will create an additional 300
new jobs among manual workers and in
the construction industry.”
cOMpANIEs WITH A GREEN
MINdsET
ProjectZero is supported by more than
100 companies and shops forming part
of the ZEROcompany programme,
which involves setting a strategy for reducing
their CO2 emissions by a minimum
of 10 percent in a year.
“It is clear to see that the companies
who are taking a leading position in
thinking green are also becoming more
attractive to their customers,” says Peter
Rathje. ·
THE DANISH ENERGY INDUSTRIES FEDERATION – SpEcIAl ADvERTISING SUpplEmENT
pROjEcT
zERO:
More than 100 companies
and shops
take part in ZEROcompany
learning
programmes
More than 500
house owners have
joined ZEROhouse
and are saving energy
and money
ProjectZero has recently
been accepted
into the Clinton
Foundation’s Climate
Positive Development
Project
ProjectZero collaborates
with cities
and universities in
the Nordic countries,
Germany, China
and USA
In 2007-2010, Sønderborg
municipal
area reduced its CO2
emissions by 12.6
percent
ProjectZero is supported
financially
by SE, Danfoss (Bitten
& Mads Clausens
Fond), Sønderborg
Municipality,
DONG Energy and
Nordea Fonden
Read more on
www.projectzero.dk
”Danish companies can increase their competitiveness if they implement energy savings.
Danfoss Solutions has the capital and can help organise it,” says sales director Lars Grønbæk.
Self-financing
energy-saving
Many companies benefit from
implementing energy-saving
initiatives. In just two years,
they gain a saving of 15-20
percent on their energy bill.
By: Marianne Sommer.
Lars Grønbæk is often met with scepticism
regarding the product he sells
– simply because it sounds too good to
be true. He is acting CEO at Danfoss
Solutions, which allows companies to
analyse their energy consumption and
subsequently introduce self-financing
energy-saving initiatives. In just a couple
of years, customers benefit from
savings of typically 15-20 percent. The
service Danfoss provides is called ES-
CO, which stands for Energy Service
Company, and Danfoss Solutions has
10 years of pioneering experience in
the area.
”Companies want to make savings
on their energy bill, but they
often give it low priority because of
lack of resources, or because money
is needed for replacing machinery or
for a strategic investment. The advantage
of ESCO is that companies do not
need to pay up front. They do however
need to spend time and resources
on the project – but significantly less
than if they received no help from us,”
says Lars Grønbæk.
At the start of the project, Danfoss
consultants and the customer
conduct an initial analysis of energy
consumption, which takes a couple
of months. The consultants then suggest
a number of areas where the company
can make savings and offer to
carry out the energy-saving projects,
while guaranteeing savings within
a defined period of time, typically a
couple of years.
cOMpETITIvE AdvANTAGE
The Danish biscuit and cake producer
Bisca is among the companies that
have made use of Danfoss Solutions’
offer to analyse energy consumption.
Bisca invested EUR 675,000 in
energy-saving initiatives, and with
annual savings of more than EUR
405,000, return on the investment
was achieved in just 18 months.
”We have made continuous efforts
to minimise energy costs and
CO2 emissions, but Danfoss Solution
conducted a complete analysis
in 2008 which provided us with
a greater overview. We have saved
about 30 percent of our costs since
then. Around half of the savings have
been made from employees changing
behaviour,” says the director of Bisca
Michael Budtz Berthelsen.
”The savings are very important
to our competitiveness. If we do not
do something to save on energy, our
cakes will increase in price due to rising
energy costs,” says the director,
who has subsequently appointed a
full-time employee to continue the
work of finding energy savings. ·
Read more about ESCO on
danfoss.com/Solutions