Generating Clean Electricity
We live in a changing world, where in order for us and future generations to have a brighter future, we must be more sustainable. The Mining and Quarrying industries are all beginning to take more responsibility for a more sustainable future.
In recent years, solar panels have become increasingly popular as a sustainable and renewable energy source. By harnessing the power of the sun, they offer numerous benefits, both for the environment and for companies looking to reduce their energy costs, making individuals more self-sustainable.
One of the key advantages of solar panels is their ability to generate clean electricity by using the power of the sun. This allows for a greener and more sustainable energy solution compared to traditional fossil fuel-based power generation. Amongst our green Scope 1 environmental initiatives, such as gradually ensuring all our cars are electric, another Scope 1 initiative is including energy-efficient lighting. In recent years, MMD have invested heavily in finding more sustainable ways to power our offices around the world using solar energy.
MMD Europe Office and Workshops (UK)
In April/May, our UK office installed over 1450 solar panels on two of our sites. Site 1 has a 233.6kW system and Site 2 has a 314.4kW system. This is the largest installation of solar panels across the group producing on average 40-45% of their electricity for both the offices and factory. This significant change in power source not only reduces our carbon footprint and reliance on the power grid but also covers Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions. Thus having an impact on production costs, which helps to benefit the customer.
MMD Australia Office
In Australia, at the Narangba Queensland office, they have installed a 100kW solar panel system on top of their workshop/facility. This system powers the workshop/facility during the day and any excess power (if applicable) is fed back into the grid, providing further prevented emissions by others.
“MMD Australia, are committed to a sustainable future, and exceeding our environmental regulatory requirements. Our goal is environmental excellence and pollution prevention. It is our policy to seek continual improvements throughout our business operations.” – MMD Australia HSEQ Team.
MMD South Africa
Our office in South Africa recognises that at present, they cannot currently power both their office and storage facility on 100% solar panel energy due to their scale. However, they have plans in place to help reduce their carbon emissions over the coming years.
To date, they have installed a 5.7kWp solar system on top of their storage facility that enables staff to carry out activities such as packing, the building of pallets and much more. Over in their main office, they have installed a 55kWp solar system to help keep the servers running. We found that load shedding was having an impact on our productivity. However, due to the installations, the productivity in our offices is higher since our employees are now able to work more hours.
Since installing the solar panels in June and August 2023, they have had a C02 reduction of 7,935.2kg, a Sulphur Dioxide reduction of 209.3kg and they have planted the equivalent of 4.5 trees.
ISO Accreditation
At MMD Group, a number of our offices are working towards different ISO accreditations. ISO is an independent, non-governed service that helps to support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. Simon Shooter, SHEQ Principal Manager in our Europe office said, “we are working towards ISO45001 (Occupational Health and Safety), we are also working towards ISO14001 (Environmental Management).” To help us achieve our sustainability goals, we are also focusing our efforts on investing in the health and well-being of staff by developing a leisure area.
MMD Australia currently holds ISO 14001 accreditation with LRQA, further supporting the group’s environmental commitment, this is in addition to their ISO9001 & ISO45001 accreditations with LRQA. This includes an annual audit, which amongst all necessary elements requires them to show proven continual improvement across all three standards.
Summary
As a group of companies, we are currently undergoing a carbon audit to further improve our sustainability targets. We aim to do this by employing new techniques and innovative technologies within the manufacturing stage to further improve MMD green credentials and value-added for end users. We are committed to a culture of care for the environment wherever we operate. We recognise the importance of lowering emissions and are therefore being responsible OEMs by making a conscious effort to implement sustainable practices across the whole group.