HOW STENA PROPERTY REDUCED ITS USE OF ENERGY BY 30 PERCENT
Just over 10 years ago, Stena Property set a goal of reducing its use of heating, building electricity and water by 20 percent by 2020 for all its property holdings. A goal that has been surpassed!
“It’s been a purposeful, sometimes difficult task, but we have always had the goal in mind and continuously monitored our results, which has contributed to us now reaching the goal we set ten years ago,” says Jonas Larsson, Energy and Environmental Manager in Malmö. “It’s gratifying to work with initiatives that benefit the environment and at the same time are financially profitable.”
Between 2010 and 2020, the company has on average reduced its use of heat by 30 percent, building electricity by 38 percent and water by 21 percent.
FROM MANUAL OPERATIONS TO AUTOMATION AND DIGITALIZATION
Once the goal was set, Stena Property needed to review its organization, and hire the right people for working with energy efficiency and environmental issues. At the time, in 2010, there were almost no digitally connected properties. All checks and adjustments had to made done manually on site, including reading of data, which was only carried out once a month. Today, all properties are connected to automated systems that can be accessed via a special technology network.
“Meter reading is instantaneous, every fifteen seconds, enabling data to be analyzed in real-time as events unfold,” says Jonas Larsson. “This makes it easier to control and optimize energy use.”
Major investments in technical equipment have been made during the ten-year period to achieve the energy goal. Investments include presence-controlled LED lighting, ventilation with recovery capabilities and a technology network to which all properties can be connected, thus ensuring the collection of data.
SUCCESS FACTORS
Over the years, Stena Property has expanded its staff working with energy and sustain-ability issues, where the energy is one of several important pieces of the puzzle in the company’s wide-scale work with sustainability and halving its climate footprint by 2030. But what are the success factors for succeeding in reducing energy use?
“We have had a dedicated and well-trained staff who have kept our efforts focused, at the same time as there has been financial space to conduct projects for reducing energy use,” says Jonas Larsson. “By openly presenting our results in the organization on a quarterly basis, commitment and a winning culture have been established for achieving the goal.”
In continued efforts to reduce the use of energy, Stena Property will begin a project in 2021 in which six properties will be administered using an artificial intelligence solution, a solution that can be gradually scaled up.