Denny Bros extends environmental commitment

This will see Denny Bros produce 20 percent of its electricity requirement from solar energy produced at its Bury St Edmunds manufacturing headquarters. It has implemented a second phase to follow the installation of its first phase of 200 (50kW) solar panels in 2014. This move, supported by Suffolk County Council’s SABRE scheme, has already saved the company over 23 tonnes of C02-equivalent each year.

Just one year later, the company is trebling its solar generation capacity by installing a further 100kW array. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of June, and generate enough electricity to power 21 homes.

This installation will be the first under the new West Suffolk Solar for Business scheme, developed by St Edmundsbury Borough Council in close collaboration with Denny Bros, which sees the company lease its roof in return for cheap electricity generated by council installed and maintained solar panels.

Denny Bros managing director Graham Denny said: ‘We are a family business and our name is over the door. Our reputation is very important to us and we want a social conscience to be a key factor in determining how we run our business. We have operated an ISO 14001 compliant environmental management system since 2008 and now have green policies embedded in everything we do. Reducing waste in all its forms is a key objective for us as is driving down our carbon footprint.

‘Other initiatives we have taken include a substantial reduction in landfill waste achieved by separating waste streams and recycling. Office lighting has been made more energy efficient with the replacement of fluorescent lamps with LED panels which are sensor controlled.  Electricity used in physical manufacturing has been reduced too, and 10 percent less is used in the printing, cutting and folding process giving us substantial direct savings.’

Further, a thermal imaging survey of the roof revealed the need for Denny Bros to improve the insulation above the office areas which has cut the company’s gas use by over a quarter, while water sensors installed in the bathrooms have reduced the total water consumption of the business by half.

Denny Bros quality manager Julian Colman added: ‘It does indeed feel good to be working in synergy with nature to improve the environmental performance of our business.

‘The sun is a tremendous resource for generating clean and sustainable energy, and the idea of devoting more space to solar panels,  on our signature roof space, is most definitely the right one for us. We will benefit from lower electricity bills and St Edmundsbury Borough Council will generate an income too from the “feed in tariff” paid by the government.

‘It is time every business opted for solar investment. It really is the best initiative available to lessen the carbon footprint of a business.  It’s good for Denny Bros and for our customers who respect us for being able to demonstrate our green credentials to them.’