Elkem embraces sustainability to boost products' quality, value

Increased focus on sustainable business practices, along with growing demand for renewable energy and low-emission technologies, will drive Elkem Group's growth, said its CEO Helge Aasen.

As a technology leader in silicon materials, which can be used in chips for electronics and solar panels, the company founded in Norway in 1904 has long been campaigning for sustainable development.

"For Elkem and any other chemical or metallurgical company, sustainability has become the backbone of doing business and a prerequisite for a successful global company," Aasen said. "To stay in business long-term, companies have to focus on sustainability and deliver results."

"Innovation also plays a key role, both regarding the development of better and more sustainable products, and improved processes," he said.

Environmental consciousness has been supported and promoted by China National Chemical Corp, also known as Chem-China, since one of its subsidiaries, Bluestar, took over Elkem in 2011.

Elkem upgraded the largest furnace at a Salten plant on its home turf in 2015. The move enabled a 50 percent drop in nitrogen oxide emissions from the industrial furnace.

Nitrogen oxides act as an indirect greenhouse gas by producing tropospheric greenhouse gas ozone via photochemical reactions in the atmosphere. Long-term exposure to nitrogen oxide in smog can trigger serious respiratory problems, including damage to lung tissue and reduction in lung function.

Elkem plans to initiate a series of furnace renovation projects to reduce emissions by 1,000 metric tons of nitrogen oxide annually. It is also seeking to replace coal with charcoal in its production process to ensure product quality while reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to the company.

"Health, safety and compliance are prerequisites for sustainability," Aasen said. "No business can be called sustainable unless health, safety and compliance are priorities on the management and board agenda."

In a response to the European Union's call for reductions in polluted water and dust emissions, Elkem has started using new production equipment with enhanced sealing performance in six plants in Norway. As a result, dust emissions dropped to 0.47 milligrams per cubic meter from 2.89 milligrams per cubic meter in 2013.

Joining Bluestar has given Elkem opportunities to combine its state-of-the-art technologies with a wide range of competitive resources ofered by Chem-China.

Elkem teamed up with REC, another Norwegian subsidiary of Bluestar, in solar energy business. Their partnership brought the two companies up the value chain - Elkem has become agile to meet market demand as a photovoltaic materials provider, and REC has grown into one of the top three suppliers of solar panels in the United States.

Bluestar Silicones, part of Elkem Group, won the honor of being a China green benchmark enterprise, presented by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, in recognition of its acclamation worldwide, sustainable technological innovation and strong sense of corporate social responsibility in 2016.

"Energy efficiency and environmental protection are at the core of sustainability," the CEO said. "For Elkem, major trends like energy saving, increased use of renewable energy and electric mobility translate into business opportunities."

(China Daily 04/08/2017 page7)