OUR IMPACT
4th month of being a Climate Positive Workforce. It feels OK but can we do more? Yes!
To recap, every month we support various environmental projects through our affiliation with Ecologi. We pay a monthly fee based on the calculation of our employees’ carbon emissions. This fee is then paid towards various projects all over the world to help offset our carbon emissions and therefore make us a Climate Positive Workforce. Ecologi work with leading environmental companies such as the Eden Reforestation Projects to plant trees, and other projects that are in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
‘The key thing to note is the tree planting we do aren’t certified as carbon offsets. The carbon emissions they will sequester will happen in the future, so for any reporting on offsetting a carbon footprint we only use certified offsets from our other projects (such as renewable energy). It’s this combination of making reductions today, and planning reductions in the future that is our approach to comprehensive strategy of limiting climate change.’
Turning waste biogas into electricity
All production processes generate waste in some form. The production processes at distilleries generate large amounts of wastewater containing a high concentration of organic waste, which – when left untreated in open lagoons – leads to potent greenhouse gases like methane being released into the atmosphere.Because of the climate impact of these emissions from organic waste, it is vital to ensure the treatment of as much waste as possible, to minimise the potential for output of harmful greenhouse gases when the waste decomposes.One way to do this is to use methane digesters, which harness the power of microbes to transform organic waste into biogas (an energy source) and digestate (a nutrient-rich fertiliser).
Project
This innovative project mitigates greenhouse gas emissions caused by the decomposition of wastewater from the Thai San Miguel Liquor (TSML) distillery in Bangkok, by capturing biogas from wastewater and converting it to electricity in newly-installed engines.The process uses methane digesters – by installing a digester between the exiting sump pit and the lagoons, the wastewater is treated, with the subsequent captured methane used as biogas for electricity production.
Previously, wastewater with a high organic matter content was treated in an anaerobic lagoon which during the organic decomposition, led to the escape of methane into the atmosphere. The project reduces greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the biogas before it enters the atmosphere and converting it into electricity. The electricity is then used to replace the fossil fuel energy which powers the TSML boilers, and is also exported to the Thai national grid. Estimated emissions reductions from this project are over 87,000 tonnes per year.
If you are feeling generous you can donate to our tree planting scheme by clicking here.