Plant Services - February 2008 - (Page 74)

energy eXPerT Energy, climate and food Food processing plants have extra reasons to strategize energy I utilities. Most of this electricity is used in homes and buildrecently had the privilege to be a session speaker at ings that could easily reduce their electricity demand if they the annual meeting of the Northwest Food Processors were more efficient. Thus, by a strange series of links, subopAssociation in Portland, Ore. I was struck by the setimal building codes are driving up the cost of food. riousness with which the industry’s senior management is When it comes to climate change, food is a multidimenconsidering the risks and opportunities around energy. The sional contributor to manmade greenhouse gas emissions. willingness to have an open and serious discussion about Changes in land use and burning fuels for agriculture, as the future effects of energy and climate change was both well as importing food from around the world and transimpressive and timely. porting the processed food to market, produce vast amounts This industry faces potentially game-changing influences of additional greenhouse gases. This hasn’t around costs, the demands of their final conescaped the attention of some major food resumers and the demands of food retailers. The tailers and their environmentally conscious U.S. food industry has evolved for decades on Cost is being consumers. Some are planning to introduce a diet of cheap, freely available energy. exacerbated by “carbon-footprint” labeling requirements for This is inevitably reflected in the industry’s their products. What food-processing execuoperations. The various energy-related aspects well-meaning Tesco, or of food processing and packaging, food prepbiofuel policies. tive can ignore potentialtraceablePepsiCo laWal-Mart demands for carbon aration, sterilization and refrigeration tend to beling on their products? be viewed separately with a relatively low level A large part of the processed food and of integration. Elsewhere in the world, where drink industry relies on packaging that has significant enenergy prices have traditionally been higher, there’s a higher ergy-related aspects. The most obvious is glass, which is bedegree of energy integration, including extensive heat recoming more costly to produce as gas and electricity prices covery from process to process. increase. The high energy content also is associated with a This low-cost world has changed abruptly as energy costs significant level of embedded greenhouse gas, which must have more than doubled. With energy prices forecast to conbe reflected in any carbon-labeling requirement. Can food tinue to rise, energy productivity can no longer be viewed as processing executives afford not to understand the energy an optional task for operations. It must increasingly be seen and climate effects of the packaging choices they make for as a strategic driver that might even dictate the location of a their products? plant or the processes used in the future. Lastly, there is the effect of changing weather patterns At a minimum, energy cost is increasingly tracked and on the cost and viability of farming, which affects the understood by a wider group of management than ever bepredictability of the cost and quality of raw materials for fore, and global competitors with more energy-efficient opthe food processor. Every climate change model shows a erations have become more serious threats. high probability of significant changes in crop patterns in Cost is being exacerbated by well-meaning biofuel polithe coming decades. If these risks exist, can a food execucies aimed at reducing dependence in imported oil and the tive afford not to have some business scenarios to adapt carbon footprint of vehicles. Whatever the pros and cons of to these changes? this approach, it’s diverting land used for food production Customers, shareholders and the wider public will increasinto fuel production and pushing up the price of crops, the ingly expect management to quantify energy and climate basic raw material for the processing industry. Given this, risks, and clearly articulate their plans to manage them. can an executive in the food industry remain agnostic when it comes to the topic of biofuels? Fertilizers also are rising in price as natural gas, a crucial Peter Garforth is principal of Garforth International LLC, Toledo, component in their manufacture, is in demand by electric Ohio. He can be reached at garforthp@cs.com. 74 www.PLANTSERVICES.com February 2008 http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Plant Services - February 2008

Plant Services - February 2008 Contents From the Editor Letters The PS Files Up and Running Crisis Corner What Works Asset Manager: Why Six Sigma? Technology Toolbox: Ensuring a Calm Response Cover Story: Best Practices Awards Lubricants: A Slick Success Story Motors: Reliable Torque Compressors: Before You Call for Help Web Hunter: Exploiting Intellectual Capital In the Trenches Product Picks Classifieds Fast Facts Energy Expert: Energy, Climate and Food

Plant Services - February 2008

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