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CGPP Report 2004/10

AT A GLANCE
In a move aimed at improving its overall
environmental performance, the Furniture College
in Letterfrack, Co Galway developed a Cleaner
Greener Production Programme (CGPP) project,
which specifically set out to reduce energy usage
and water usage in every area of the colleges
operations as well as reduce the amount of waste
generated on the site. From the outset, most of
the 150 students at the college and 11 staff
members were involved in this CGPP project,
which was carried out over an eight-month period
in 2002/2003. A range of operational practices
within the college was evaluated. Particular
emphasis was placed on the implementation of a
series of continuous improvement initiatives in
waste minimisation, materials re-use, materials
recycling and energy conservation.

THE FURNITURE
COLLEGE, LETTERFRACK,
CO GALWAY
The Furniture College, which was established in
1987, is an educational partnership between
Connemara West (a rural community
development organisation) and the Galway-Mayo
Institute of Technology (GMIT). The college
provides education and training in furniture design,
manufacture, conservation and restoration.
Throughout, the teaching emphasis is very
practical in nature: up to half the students time is
taken up with making furniture in a machine
hall/factory environment, where a wide range of
raw materials including solid wood, manufactured
boards (e.g. MDF and plywood) and metal
components are utilised.

IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL
PERFORMANCE AT THE FURNITURE
COLLEGE, GMIT-LETTERFRACK, CO GALWAY
AIMS OF THIS PROJECT
The main aim of this project was to
improve the environmental performance of
the Furniture College across a range of
day-to-day activities.
As a first step, the CGPP project team
carried out a detailed assessment of the
colleges existing environmental
performance: the data collected during this
exercise were used as the benchmark
against which all CGPP project
improvements would be measured.
Specific project objectives were to achieve
a significant reduction in electricity usage,
gas usage and water usage which, as well
as yielding environmental benefits, would
also generate financial savings. In addition,
the CGPP project team set out to achieve

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It is hoped that the impact of the Cleaner Greener


Production Programme (CGPP) project will be felt
for many years to come both in the Furniture
College itself and further afield. It is also hoped
that, over time, those college graduates who have
taken up employment in the furniture
manufacturing industry in Ireland will be able to
influence the companies that employ them to
implement best practice and improve their overall
environmental performance.

Individual team members were assigned


the task of quantifying the scale of
effort required to tackle the various
environmental issues identified, and
they reported their findings to the
monthly project meetings where these
challenges were discussed and an
implementation programme agreed.

a significant reduction in the amount of


waste generated on the site

Most Furniture College graduates find


employment in the Irish furniture manufacturing
industry, which mainly comprises small to
medium-size enterprises.

As a first step, a team comprising


representatives of Aster Environmental
Consultants (external advisors to this
CGPP project) and staff members drawn
from academic and support staff
developed an environmental policy: this
policy was aimed at achieving
continuous environmental
improvements across a range of college
activities. Four sub-groups were
established to prioritise areas of specific
concern and a series of CGPP project
initiatives was identified.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This CGPP project was carried out over an
eight-month period. On-site meetings to
review progress were held every four
weeks.

Students at the college were


encouraged to become involved in this
CGPP project in a number of different
ways including participating in treeplanting activities; assisting with on-site
waste/energy audits; taking part in
environmental awareness-raising events
such as quizzes; co-operating with
materials management activities on
campus, and attending lectures on a
range of environmental issues.

BETTER BUSINESS IN A BETTER IRELAND

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ACHIEVEMENTS
The following achievements were recorded:
An environmental policy statement for the college was
drawn up.
A materials management system was put in place.
A series of lectures on evaluating the environmental
implications of usage of certain raw materials and designs
was introduced.
The level of awareness of environmental issues among
college staff, students and personnel working in the
range of enterprises that operate in and around the
college site improved significantly during the eight-month
project period.
The environmental impact of design is now a mandatory
consideration in all student projects.

Figure 2: Materials segregated and labelled for re-use.


By implementing a programme of judicious energy
management, the college was able to reduce on-site CO2
emissions from 112 tonnes for the period January to June
2002, to 97 tonnes for the corresponding period in 2003.

Figure 3: Chart showing comparisons in energy


consumption between 2001 and 2003.

Figure 1:
Students and staff planting trees at the Furniture College
An estimated 1.5 tonnes of waste has been diverted from
landfill directly as a result of reducing materials usage;
segregating materials that are considered suitable for re-use,
and recycling MDF and other types of timber products.

The various measures that have been put in place to


conserve materials usage, optimise energy consumption and
minimise waste generation will provide examples of best
practice for the 150 students taking courses at the college
each year. The CGPP project team anticipates that long
term this will create a number of knock-on environmental
and economic benefits for the Irish furniture manufacturing
industry as a whole.

Also, as a direct result of this CGPP project, the Furniture


College is moving towards the implementation of smallerscale student projects, which retain their core educational
and skills learning elements while managing to conserve raw
materials usage. This initiative alone will lead to more
efficient use of materials within the college and ultimately
will reduce the amount of waste generated on the site.
Figure 4: Staff participating in a spray booth training course

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OBSERVATIONS

LESSONS

In order to ensure that improvements in environmental


performance continue to be maintained at the Furniture
College, the following initiatives are planned:

Based on feedback received from staff and students, the CGPP


project team has identified the elements of the project that were
perceived by students and staff as being particularly successful.
The project team believes that these initiatives will serve to
further reinforce a sense of achievement in relation to improved
environmental performance among staff and students on the
campus. They will also help to promote and sustain other
environmental improvement initiatives in the future.
Certain initiatives were deemed to be worth repeating and these
include:
Continuous improvement of on-site waste management
systems
Further refinement of materials management systems
A series of lectures on assessing the environmental impact of
certain materials and designs
On-site tree planting by staff and students at the college
A fundraising campaign to benefit an environmental cause,
selected by students at the college.

A core group, charged with looking after the


environmental interests of the College, is to be established.
Environmental issues are to be included on the agenda at
all course planning meetings.
Activities and events aimed at raising students awareness
of environmental issues will begin at an earlier point in the
academic calendar; members of the colleges student body
will be involved in arranging many of these events.
The college will develop an Environmental Studies module
for inclusion in its degree courses: this is designed to ensure
that students have the necessary skills to address the wide
range of environmental issues that affect the furniture
manufacturing industry as a whole.
The college will move to incorporate air-assisted airless
technology into its spray booth system. This will lead to a
reduction in solvent usage and waste generation.

Energy savings have been achieved through activities designed


to raise awareness and through the implementation of energy
conservation policies.
Repairs and refurbishments to the college carried out during
2003 will serve to further improve the insulation of the building,
thereby reducing heat loss and oil consumption.
The data presented above show that it is possible to effect a
significant change programme through education and sensible
use policies.

MORE INFORMATION
For more information on this project contact:
Finian Sheridan
The Furniture College
Letterfrack
Co Galway
Tel: 095 41660 Fax: 095 41112
Email: finian.sheridan@gmit.ie
Website: www.gmit.ie
or

Figure 5: This photograph, which was taken in June 2003,


shows a sapling that was planted at the college just four
months earlier.

Marie Louise Heffernan (Director)


Aster Environmental Consultants Ltd
Rusheenduff, Renvyle
Co Galway
Tel: 095 43090 Fax: 095 43090
Email: asterenvironmental@eircom.net

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CLEANER GREENER
PRODUCTION IS
the application of integrated preventive environmental
strategies to processes, products, and services to increase
overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the
environment.
Production processes: conserving raw materials and
energy, eliminating toxic raw materials, and reducing the
quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes
Products: reducing negative impacts along the life cycle
of a product, from raw materials extraction to its
ultimate disposal.
Services: incorporating environmental concerns into
designing and delivering services.

CLEANER GREENER
PRODUCTION REQUIRES
new attitudes, better environmental management, and
evaluating available technology options. We need to take
good environmental practice to the stage where it is an
inherent part of any business operation.

HOW IS CLEANER GREENER


PRODUCTION DIFFERENT?
Much of the current thinking on environmental protection
focuses on what to do with wastes and emissions after they
have been created. The goal of cleaner, greener production
is to avoid generating pollution in the first place.
This means:

Better efficiency
Better business
Better environmental protection
Lower costs
Less waste
Less emissions
Less resource consumption

WHY IS THE CLEANER


GREENER PRODUCTION
PROGRAMME BEING RUN?

The long-term goal is to ensure that cleaner, greener production


becomes the established norm in Ireland. The programme seeks to
promote environmentally friendly business through increased
resource productivity, waste reduction, recovery of materials,
improved efficiency in a product value chain, energy management,
and a change of culture within organisations.
The programme aims are focussed on avoiding and preventing
adverse environmental impact rather than treating or cleaning up
afterwards. This approach brings better economic and
environmental efficiency.

PROGRAMME MANAGERS:
The Clean Technology Centre (CTC) at Cork Institute of
Technology was appointed to manage the programme in
association with OSullivan Public Relations Ltd, and Energy
Transport Actions Ltd, (ENTRAC).
The CTC was established in 1991 and is now nationally and
internationally regarded as a centre of excellence in cleaner
production, environmental management and eco-innovation across
a range of industrial sectors.

WHERE CAN I GET


FURTHER INFORMATION?
This case study report is one of 29 reports
available from the organisations that
participated in the first phase of the Cleaner
Greener Production Programme. A summary
of all the projects and CD containing all the reports
are also available. More information on the Programme
is available from the Environmental Protection Agency
Ms. Helen Walsh,
CGPP,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Richview, Clonskeagh Road, Dublin 14, Ireland.
Tel. 01 2680100
Website

Fax. 01 2680199

www.epa.ie

select link to cleaner production.

Email. ertdi@epa.ie
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The Irish Government, through the National Development


Plan 2000 - 2006, has allocated funds to a programme for
Environmental Research, Technological Development and
Innovation (ERTDI).

The Department of the Environment and Local Government asked


the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to run the CGPP as
part of the ERTDI programme. With the programme continuing to
2006 about 60 businesses will be supported to implement cleaner
greener production and to demonstrate their achievements to the
rest of Ireland.

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