Thousands of solar panels have been installed at two AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) sites on two continents as the company continues to accelerate towards its ambition of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030.
The two recent projects have been taking place in Garcia, Mexico, and Barcelona, Spain. The Garcia installation (of 1,650 solar panels) at an industrial coatings site is already complete, while in Barcelona, work to install 1,600 roof panels is well underway.
AkzoNobel’s Garcia site features newly installed solar panels (Source: AkzoNobel)
They’re the latest in a series of solar projects around the world which aim to help AkzoNobel reduce energy use by 30% and move to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 as part of its “People. Planet. Paint.” sustainability ambitions.
“We’re already using renewable electricity at 33 of our locations in eight countries and have installed solar panels at 14 facilities,” explains Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s Program Manager for Sustainability. “The latest two projects will make an important contribution to our continuing efforts to significantly increase these numbers as we strive to achieve our ambition of cutting our emissions by 50% by 2030.”
Due to be completed by the end of January next year, the installation in Barcelona will generate 15% of the site’s overall energy consumption. It joins two other AkzoNobel locations in Spain where solar panels have already been installed – Vilafranca, and Vallirana.
Covering more than 5,300m2 of space, the Garcia installation will generate 82% of energy requirements – making the site almost self-dependent – and it will eventually produce more energy than it normally consumes.
“We’re very happy to see this project come to life,” says Garcia Site Manager, Juan Francisco Garcia. “Initiatives such as this will help Mexico contribute to the company’s ambition to become carbon neutral and use 100% renewable energy. It’s very much aligned with our People. Planet Paint. approach and is a visible sign of positivity in these challenging times.”
Continues Bruinsma: “People. Planet. Paint. is about integrating sustainability in everything we do. It’s about ensuring that we continue to make a difference by addressing the sustainability challenges faced by our company, customers and broader society. Because by turning our ambitions into actions, we can make a positive contribution to society and ensure that we remain the reference in our industry.”
AkzoNobel currently uses 100% renewable electricity in eight countries – Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Estonia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.