Our Performance
Energy/CO2
The discovery, development and manufacturing processes are all intensive users of energy in the form of gas, electricity and steam. Laboratories and offices, for example, require heating and lighting, but a significant energy requirement relates to the movement of air in laboratories, specifically, fume cupboards. This arises from safety and cleanliness requirements. In production, energy is needed for chemical reactions and processes such as drying and milling.
Environmental Perspective
The generation of energy involves the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, which depletes natural resources and results in the release of carbon dioxide (the most com¬mon greenhouse gas) that gives rise to global warming. Changes in the global climate, including both flooding and drought, is one of the major environmental challenges to man.
The burning of fossil fuels also contributes to an increase in levels of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen – both of which can lower air quality.
Management
Energy conservation plays a vital role in reducing the impact man has on climate change. At Pfizer, we have had considerable success in improving our energy efficiency. Our Energy Management Team has established monitoring systems that enable good management of energy within our buildings and processes.
The supply of energy from efficient sources is a significant part of climate change management. Since 1993, we have generated a significant proportion of our electrical energy and steam requirements for our Sandwich site using Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants.
This technology allows capture of exhaust heat from a gas turbine (generating electricity) to raise steam. The efficiency of CHP (at around 85%) is significantly higher than typical external sources. In this way, we are able to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit of energy we use. We also generate the balance of our steam requirements through high efficiency boilers and the recovery of energy from waste solvent we use, as a fuel in our waste-to-energy facility. Our overall efficiency for the delivery of energy is around 65%.
During 2004, we became members of the Carbon Management Programme. This is a government-led initiative that sets a framework for meeting our climate change obligations through reductions in the release of carbon dioxide from the use of energy. Pfizer in the UK fully endorses this programme, which reflects similar programmes elsewhere in the world such as the Climate Leaders Program in the United States. Subsequently, we have introduced a Carbon Management Policy that sets a framework for energy management including the setting of energy reduction targets and the review of energy efficiency for significant projects.
This financial mechanism allows the efficient reduction in the release of carbon dioxide within Europe by, setting absolute caps and placing a value on releases of carbon dioxide to stimulate investment in energy efficient technologies.
As a result of the trading scheme the Sandwich site invested in a Steam Turbo Generator (STG) that takes advantage of the need to reduce high-pressure steam to low-pressure steam for heating and process uses. The STG has estimated increase the efficiency of energy generation by 3% to 4% and to further reduce releases of carbon dioxide.
