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Activities
The main activities of EUROALLIAGES are related to:
- trade issues (WTO negotiations, bilateral trade negotiations, fair trade considerations);
- environmental, health and safety issues;
- energy, climate and other industrial issues;
- communication and international relations issues;
- EU funding.
Activities of the European ferro-alloys and silicon industry towards health, safety, environment, and resource efficiency
A lot of improvements have been accomplished since decades!
I. Sustainable Development policy
- Ethics Charter
- Involvement at the highest level of the Company
- Guidelines, action plans and monitoring of EHS, industrial risks and product liability
- Integration of EHS project design based on the best international standards
- Responsible purchasing
- Internal audit system on EHS and Energy performance
II. Energy & Climat
- ISO 50001 Certification
- Integration of energy performance indicators into management of industrial performance.
- Implementation of energy recovery system:
- Use of the energy of the off-gas flows from the production lines for steam or electrical power generation
- Internal use of the waste CO-gas and use by other companies in Industry Park
- Identification and implementation of energy savings:
- Better insulation
- Motor inspections
- Lighting management
- Sealing leaks in compressed air systems
- Heating and cooling control
- Drying of raw materials in order to reduce energy consumption
- Upgrading of auxiliary equipment
- Development of tools and methods for real-time sensing, advanced control and optimization of batch processes to save energy and raw materials.
- Energy Audits
- R&D&I projects (e.g. furnace design, process control and more efficient use of raw material, …)
Identification of potential auxiliary energy savings
III. Environment management
II.1. Management of emissions: air, water, waste
- ISO 14001 Certification
- Investments in the prevention and treatment of emissions by implementing best available techniques:
- Implementation of better dust collection systems (bag house filter, scrubbers etc.)
- Development of new types of highly effective local dust collection and extraction systems for the tapping area, commonly called ‘Doghouse technology’
- Installation of extraction hoods for capturing process gas during casting.
- Better control of diffuse emissions
- Use of containment tanks, double-walled storage, culverts, slabs, sewer upgrades, rainwater collection ponds, recovery of process water, emergency basin for cases of fire or storm...
- Improvement of water treatment processes, COD
- Storage of hazardous products in containment systems
- Specific waste management: prevent waste generation/reuse/recycle/recovery or otherwise dispose of safely and in an environmentally friendly manner
- Dedicated environmental information system
- Sampling and analysis plans according to operating permits
- Monitoring: quality of groundwater and the impact of the activity on soils and subsoils
- Industrial and environmental risks inspections under the insurance program
- Re-habilitation of industrial sites
- Training and awareness activities on environmental responsibility management
II.2. Sustainable use of resources
- Internal recycling of water consumed (cooling system closed circuits).
- Responsible Purchasing Charter
- Pre-qualification and risk assessment of (new) suppliers of raw materials
- Recovery and use of by-products from the production processes
- Increased used of materials for the carbo-thermic reduction process from non-fossil sources
- Sourcing raw materials with a lower sulfur content
Bio-purification of polluted rain
Reduce PAHs emissions in air & water
Sealing leaks in compressed air systems
Development of new market for by-products
Increase use of raw materials from non-fossil sources
IV. Health and Safety
- Safety Charter, zero harm philosophy/policy/culture/vision
- Improvement of the company’s Safety Culture;
- Self-diagnosis tools (risk mapping);
- Securing Critical Activities through Essential Requirements;
- Improving control over the human factor by more effective presence on the field
- Continuous accidentology monitoring
- Design and modification of machinery and processes in improve safety
- Harmonization of sites chemical risk management methods
- Improvement of the technical and scientific knowledge of the company products
- Implementation of product traceability from raw to finished product
- Improvement of SDS
- Support and information to internal and external clients (Information Sheets)
- Substitution as far as possible of the most dangerous substances
- Improve relationship with neighboring populations
Improve traceability from raw to finished product
Effectiveness & customization of dust masks
V. Main areas of improvement and Innovation
The four most important areas are:
- New or improved products and services
- New production methods, equipment and processes that achieve improved quality, improved safety and a smaller environmental footprint of the products – energy efficiency, resource efficiency, or reduced emissions
- Development of new sources of raw materials
- Innovative ways of working, both in sales, marketing and production
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