Environmental management systems advance eco-efficiency: BAE Systems

By applying ISO 14001 environmental management system standards to its operations, BAE Systems reduces both costs and environmental impacts while improving the health and safety of its employees.

BAE Systems Limited is an international aerospace manufacturing company with 63 sites in the UK. It has a multi-million pound annual turnover and employs over 100,000 people worldwide. The company works within an ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS). One of the group’s key business units at the Samlesbury site in Lancashire is the Centralised Treatments Facility (CTF), where key operations include the coating and surface finishing of metal components for both civil and military aircraft.

A spray booth, which caters for aircraft components of up to 1 meter in length, is where 85% of all painting work is undertaken. The waste sludge resulting from overspray in the booth contains legionella-control chemicals and strontium chromate, and is classified as hazardous waste (European Waste Catalogue code 08 01 15). Previously, the booth required cleaning every three weeks and the treatment and disposal of this waste presented particular problems. Personal protective equipment had to be worn during cleaning, the supply and disposal of which was costly. The frequency of waste disposal increased the risk of accidental spillage. To minimize impact on production, cleaning took place outside normal working hours, requiring paid overtime.

As part of a review driven by the EMS, BAE Systems realized that the paint spraying operation was an area for improvement in terms of cost, health and safety, and environmental impact. The company, therefore, invested in a new paint flocculation, filtration and de-watering unit, the benefits of which are:

• The booth water is dosed with a chemical flocculent which, together with agitation, prevents paint solids clogging waterways;
• The flocculated paint is filtered and dewatered before being bagged and dried prior to disposal;
• Cleaning of the booth and waste disposal now take place only once a year.

Although the new unit required a capital investment of £32,000, the annual cost savings include: around £13,000 in reduced hazardous waste disposal costs, as the waste no longer requires pretreatment and its volume has been considerably reduced; reduced cleaning costs of approximately £7,000, as cleaning is required annually rather than three-weekly.

The unit has an annual running cost of £700 for maintenance and chemical supply, but BAE Systems is confident that further savings in reduced production outages and waste treatment costs will offset this. The environmental benefits of the new unit include:

• A reduction in disposal of hazardous waste to landfill of 170,000 liters/year;
• Reduced transport requirements as the low volume solid waste requires only annual transportation;
• Decreased water consumption, as the unit constantly recycles water and requires only an annual total refill;
• Decreased risk of accidental spillage and a reduction in the purchase and disposal of protective equipment.

Submitted by Envirowise – a strategic partner of MEBC in the Business Resource Efficiency & Waste Awareness Raising Programme in the West Midlands.

The Business Council for Sustainable Development – United Kingdom is the UK’s only affiliated branch of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The BCSD-UK is committed to the promotion of sustainable development and to explore the practical implications of implementation. It is an independent multi-sectored business group with a keen focus on action and projects.

The Midlands Environmental Business Company is a not-for-profit company and custodian of the Midlands Environmental Business Club formed in 1991. It is a regional multi-sectored network and the strategic partner of Advantage West Midlands in the Regional Economic Strategy for the development of the environmental technology sector. It too is very action focused.

Further information

• BAE Systems Limited
• ISO
• Envirowise
• The Business Council for Sustainable Development – United Kingdom
• The Midlands Environmental Business Company

Author Envirowise/BCSD-UK/MEBC Publication Date 6 Jun 2006 Document Type Case studies Issue/Topic Business Role/CSR Regional Network Region Europe Country United Kingdom Company BCSD UK Include In RSS WBCSD News & Updates