Install Meters to Benchmark Use and Measure Savings:
Installing and operating accurate meters and measuring software are fundamental steps in benchmarking performance and initiating efficiency improvements. Metering is the management tool that underpins all the other practices. It allows plants to evaluate the water and energy efficiency of current practices, identify and respond to leaks or unusual spikes in resource use, and evaluate the effectiveness of any process-improvement measures they take.
RSI assessments revealed that many textile mills in Bangladesh estimate total water, energy, and chemical consumption based on capacity of pumps and machines; they do not know actual total resource use in practice, or the specific resource consumption of different areas in the factory or of major pieces of equipment.
At a minimum, factories need to meter resource use at the main point of supply. Next, they should prioritize workshop-level metering, and then metering at particular machines that consume the most water or energy in the factory.
Meters and measurement software are relatively inexpensive. For more about metering and costs, please see the full report available at
http://docs.nrdc.org/international/int_12122001.aspThe Best Practices for Saving Water, Energy, Chemicals, and Money RSI focuses on factory infrastructure improvements that would improve the steam production and water heating processes, recycle process water, and recover heat. For each opportunity identified, RSI evaluated the following:
Costs: both upfront investment and ongoing operational
Payback period: the time required to recoup upfront investment through savings in water, materials, and energy costs
Resource savings: water, energy, and chemicals
All cost, return, and impact estimations and calculations are based on the four factories audited in Bangladesh, supplemented with previous RSI work in China. The RSI team selected practices based on greatest impact, lowest cost, and quickest return. These criteria vary somewhat from those used in China because of the differences in circumstances in Bangladesh, such as factories’ pumping groundwater at the site rather than purchasing water from utilities and the use of
natural gas for fuel rather than coal.
Overall, three out of the seven best practices cost less than Tk 410,400 (US $5,000) each, and two cost almost nothing Costs for two other practices can be lower than Tk 410,400 (US $5,000), depending on the factory. None requires more than 15 months to recoup costs. Each practice delivers savings of:
One ton or more of water per ton fabric; or
One percent or more of the factories’ total use of steam, gas, or electricity; or
Ten percent or more of materials or costs for the targeted activity.
