Sustainability and innovation from ERIKS

ERIKS Planet+ has four key targets: Positive Energy Reduction, with more efficient products; Positive Waste Reduction, through increased recycling and higher product quality; Positive Pollution Reduction, by minimising contamination; and Positive Risk Reduction, by providing a safer working environment.

Earlier this year, the Planet+ conference gave UK engineers the chance to meet technical experts from ERIKS, see some of the company's product innovations and discover the cost savings that these engineering approaches can make. The response was very positive, because ERIKS Planet+ is all about bringing benefits to industry as well as the planet. Building sustainability is not just good for the environment; it is also a powerful differentiator in the marketplace. The need to be more energy efficient and increase profits goes hand in hand with the growing change in the attitudes towards more ethical business operations. Customers want, and need, to be sure that they are buying products and equipment that are ISO approved, health and safety approved and sustainable; all this is supported by ERIKS Planet+.

The drive for sustainability naturally promotes innovation; the activities of Core Competence Centres show just how ERIKS can innovate for sustainability with offerings such as the ERIKS Online TCO Calculator, which offers an easy, efficient way to calculate the annual running costs and carbon footprint of repairing or replacing a motor.

ERIKS Planet+ targets waste reduction by using the company's know-how to refine the manufacturing process and balance input with output. It also aims to reduce pollution by taking toxic substances out of the manufacturing process, and designing for minimal impact at every stage of a product's lifecycle. One example of how ERIKS has pushed for environmental change is their partnership with the University of Aberdeen to establish an internal Environmental Management System that is improving the company's own environmental performance in every possible way.

Innovation and sustainability also come together in the company's drive to reduce risk. An ERIKS-designed raft for use during tank cleaning operations was given the Innovation Award at Thames Water's Excellence in Health and Safety Awards 2011. The floating work-platform avoids the complications of having to drain entire sewage tanks and set up scaffolding to carry out routine cleaning and maintenance.

ERIKS describes Planet+ as a win-win for their customers and for the company, because by developing more efficient products that last longer, consume less energy and create less waste, customers save money, increase their profitability, and reduce their carbon footprint. And as long as ERIKS Planet+ focuses efforts on blending innovation and sustainability to support both business and the environment, ERIKS hope that the engineering industry will keep returning to meet their challenges with ERIKS solutions.

For further information about sustainability and innovation and Planet+, please email [email protected] or go to the website at www.eriks.co.uk