Tube maker Impact International has flicked the switch and turned on its upgraded 400kW solar farm, adding 123 more solar panels to the roof of its factory in Western Sydney, enabling the growing business to maintain its renewable energy percentage.
The investment in the new panels is part of a sustainable action plan that has seen Impact buying its own forest to offset its carbon usage in its materials, with the two initiatives forming part of its pioneering approach to sustainable manufacturing.
The solar panels now provide 400kW of power, up from 290kW. They provide around a third of the power needed by the company, generating an average of 1.5 megawatts of energy a day. Aleks Lajovic, managing director of the multi-award winning business says, “We are the only tube manufacturer in the world to generate our own green electricity, and to offset the carbon emissions of our supply chain via our own forestry infrastructure.
“Our manufacturing is growing, and we wanted to ensure our solar power kept pace at the same percentage, hence the upgrade. We can't run entirely solar as we are a 24-hour factory.”
The solar farm generates enough electricity to run 125 Australian homes. Maximilian Stenning and Smart Commercial Solar handled the project, on time and on budget.
Impact’s forest – an agroforestry Pinus radiate plantation of 20,000 trees, and another 1300 Australian native trees – is located 40 minutes drive from Canberra and less than three hours from Impact International’s Smithfield, NSW headquarters.
Lajovic said, “Based on a standard extruded plastic tube that holds 100ml of product, the Impact International forest can offset the raw materials used to manufacture approximately 30 million 100ml tubes each year.”
