Carbon Emission Efficiency Best Practices: A Case Study in an Industrial Site

Abstract

Carbon emission efficiency is key in sustainability development such as renewable energies and nuclear. To reach the zero-carbon emission all those levers should be activated. Carbon emission efficiency has some advantages over other levers. Renewable energies are inexhaustible resources, but they are not fully available everywhere (it depends on the geographical situation) and the storage of this energy is still to be developed. Nuclear is also an option for avoiding fossil fuels. Nevertheless, the treatment of nuclear waste is still an issue because they are still radioactive and therefore harmful for health. Moreover, in case of incident the consequences can be huge. This article discusses various best engineering practices for reducing carbon emissions. All those best practices have been selected among different practices because they have been successful experiences: tested, reproduced and important CO2 savings confirmed. The industrial site of this case study is a pharmaceutical manufacturing in France. Thanks to the implementation of the best carbon emission efficiency practices, site’s carbon emissions have been reduced by 48% in a decade (from 2010 to 2020).