Posted to News on 22nd Nov 2013, 14:50
Atlas Copco launches "˜VSD for Life' campaign for re-forestation
Atlas Copco is launching a new worldwide "VSD for Life' campaign that is contributing to reforestation efforts in Burkina Faso. Customers buying a Variable Speed Drive (VSD) compressor will now not only save energy, but also help to save the environment. For every kilowatt sold, Atlas Copco will donate one or two trees, depending on the compressor model purchased, to WeForest, an international non-profit association. Atlas Copco hopes to reach the target of 225,000 trees by March 2014.
With this campaign, Atlas Copco aims to help its customers save energy in addition to benefiting the environment. Atlas Copco, which holds "Sustainable Productivity" as its brand promise, takes its responsibilities towards its customers and the environment seriously. Koen Lauwers, Vice-President Marketing from the Industrial Air Division comments: "Atlas Copco believes in conducting business in a manner that preserves the environment for future generations. With this campaign, we go one step further. We don't just want to preserve nature, we want to create it."
As part of the campaign, Atlas Copco will plant a tree for every VSD kilowatt sold. For VSD+ compressors Atlas Copco will donate two trees per kilowatt. The GA VSD+ is Atlas Copco's most recent innovation: the compressor is driven by a permanent magnet motor and achieves energy savings of 50 per cent on average. For every compressor sold with integrated energy recovery, a system that allows users to re-use the heat of the compressor, another 10 trees will be donated. The target is to plant 550 acres of forest after 6 months, a surface area about as big as Central Park in New York. Atlas Copco has already given the campaign a head start by donating the prize money from its recent Sustainability Award, won by the team that developed the GA VSD+, completely to WeForest, representing some 14,500 trees.
The campaign, which is due to continue until March 2014, involves all Atlas Copco's GA VSD and GA VSD+ compressors ranging from 5 to 90kW. An integrated energy recovery system is available as option on all GA VSD compressors. Customers will be given an electronic certificate of their contribution, to share in their own communication.
With the campaign, Atlas Copco will contribute to the replanting of native forest in Burkina Faso, which is helping to reverse the decline of biodiversity by pushing back the desert. Read more about WeForest by visiting: www.weforest.org. More information about Variable Speed Drive (VSD) compressors from Atlas Copco can be found at www.atlascopco.co.uk.
