Sustaining Momentum

By Amy Mason Doan 

At an aluminum smelter in Iceland, heat that would ordinarily be wasted is used to warm buildings and clear roads in winter. A headset manufacturing complex in China employs high-performance systems that save energy and water. At a waste treatment plant under construction in Washington state, massive amounts of steel and water are recycled annually. In the UK, almost 10 million tons of chalk excavated during the High Speed 1 rail project were reused for a variety of needs such as land-raising.

These are just a few lines from Bechtel’s current list of experience with sustainable engineering, procurement, and construction (sustainable EPC). Customers are asking for ways to help them meet their sustainability goals, and Bechtel is delivering solutions on projects dotted around the globe, proving that sustainability makes excellent business sense.

"Increasing awareness of climate change has given sustainable engineering, procurement, and construction a lot of momentum," says Gary Seshagiri, who is civil, structural, and architectural lead in the Oakland office of the Waste Treatment Plant project in Hanford, Washington. "Sustainability is absolutely something that more customers are expecting these days."

Today’s customers face concerns over global warming, regulatory requirements, and the rising cost of electricity. As a result, they’ve made sustainable design expertise a must-have skill on new projects. Bechtel’s EPC practices incorporated green principles long before words like "sustainable" were in vogue, so the company is well positioned to fulfill demand going forward.

Sustainable EPC optimizes facility performance and reduces operating costs. The result can be significant savings of energy and water, a reduction in carbon emissions, and the ability to salvage and recycle solid waste. To achieve the best results, early collaboration on goals between the project team and customer is essential. "Sustainability can’t be an afterthought," says Seshagiri. "It should be part of the conversation right from the proposal stage."

Sustainability was an integral part of project execution for the Plantronics manufacturing and design center near Shanghai. The first industrial project in China to be certified by Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED), it was completed in 2006 under budget and ahead of schedule.

Plantronics has high-efficiency ventilation systems that deliver energy performance 27 to 32 percent better than standard designs. The complex also takes full advantage of the sun: high-performance glazing systems serve 77 percent of occupied areas with daylight, minimizing heat loss and power needed for lighting.

Water is treated with equal care. Rainwater is harvested from roofs and paved areas, then stored for irrigation and fire protection. Drinking fountains have piped-in reverse osmosis water. Waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures cut water use and sewage flow.

One feature that even a casual visitor can’t miss is Plantronics’ covered parking for approximately 1,000 bicycles, with battery-charging hookups for electric bikes.

Other elements of sustainable EPC may not be as obvious. Take that word "procurement" within the abbreviation. At Bechtel projects, local vendors and materials are used whenever possible. Local sourcing cuts down on shipping costs, fuel usage, and pollution, and helps the local economy.

Halfway around the world from China, Bechtel’s first project in Iceland—the Fjarðaál aluminum smelter—received that nation’s highest honor for environmental excellence, the Conch Award. Iceland’s Minister of Environment commended the project for helping develop "a new work culture in Iceland" as an influential role model for other construction companies and contractors in Iceland regarding environmental protection. "We wanted to ensure we would be remembered for all the right reasons," says Lucy Martin, the project’s lead environmental engineer.

Benchmark performances for air, water, byproduct, and noise emissions were developed in the project’s earliest phases. Noise modeling tools and enhanced natural treatment for water runoff were employed. Waste heat from the smelter’s casthouse is used to heat buildings as well as the "hot metal road," the transport route of hot liquid metal between the potroom and casthouse. The hot liquid metal is transported in large crucibles, so it is crucial for safety that the road is clear of ice and snow. Applying principles of sustainability through design and lean manufacturing resulted in savings of $24 million.

More than 90 percent of construction waste at Fjarðaál was recycled. If incinerated, it would have released 10,800 tons (9,798 tonnes) of carbon dioxide, requiring 43 acres (17 hectares) of forest to absorb the gases from the atmosphere in one year.

"We aim for a ‘triple win’ using sustainable design, reduced total installed cost, and reduced operating cost," says Martin.

The massive Waste Treatment Plant project in Richland, Washington—roughly the equivalent of building two nuclear power plants—also has a highly successful waste minimization program. Materials are recycled or reused whenever possible, including steel, used oil, and even shop towels (nearly 300 tons [272 tonnes] of steel was recycled last year). Also in 2007, 10,929 pieces of excess electronic equipment, including computers, monitors, printers, and telephones, were identified for recycling. In 2008, the project began offering excess equipment and other materials through a U.S. Department of Energy-approved program to a company that provides local organizations with equipment and materials or recycles the items and reinvests the proceeds in the community.

Additionally, there is a tremendous emphasis on working with local and small businesses. The $12 billion plant will outsource $3.2 billion, with nearly 40 percent targeted for small businesses.

As Bechtel’s experience and accumulated knowledge about sustainable EPC continues to grow, so does its ability to put principles into practice on projects around the world. To this end, Seshagiri developed Bechtel’s online toolkit to help institutionalize sustainable EPC within the company. "The goal is to use our successful track record on sustainable EPC to benefit future projects," he says.

It all adds up to a win-win situation for Bechtel and its customers.

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