The Environmental Industrial Revolution

Perspective Kingston 2009 - Leading manufacturers recognize the value of environmental sustainability. The challenge is how do manufacturers continue to serve their clients, remain profitable and reduce their carbon footprint?

In March 2008, Kevin Gellatly, a Senior Manager at Kingston-based Performance Plants Inc. (PPI), approached Shelagh McDonald of the Eastern Lake Ontario Regional Innovation Network (ELORIN) with an idea. He knew that his company, which develops high-yielding energy crops resistant to drought and heat, could work with local manufacturing companies to help them reduce their environmental impact.

He asked McDonald if she had any contacts at Lafarge, one of the world’s largest producers of concrete. As it so happened, Robert Cumming, Environmental and Public Affairs Manager at Lafarge’s Bath, Ontario plant, had been involved in some of ELORIN’s strategic planning sessions.

The subsequent meeting of Gellatly and Cumming sparked a business relationship that within five years could see Lafarge – already one of the Global Most Sustainable Corporations in the World as chosen by Corporate Knights Inc. and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc. – switch from using coal to biomass at its Bath plant.

“The cement industry as a whole is very much on the forefront of climate change action,” says Cumming. “We’ve recognized for 10 or 15 years now that climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing not just our industry, but almost every industry out there. One of the most effective solutions is to replace fossil fuels with biomass fuels.”

Lafarge presently uses coal to generate heat to make cement – the main ingredient in concrete.

Coal, a fossil fuel, emits significant amounts of carbon into the air when it is burned. Some Lafarge plants have begun using biomass by-products as a form of energy generation, but none, until the Bath plant, have looked into the feasibility of using purpose-grown biomass.

By using biomass from dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass and non-food sorghum, the company could significantly cut its carbon footprint.

Presently, biomass cannot compete with coal on an energy-for-dollar basis, and is not an economically viable reality. This is where improved crops, specifically, biomass feedstocks developed by Performance Plants, comes in.

Performance Plants Inc. was founded in 1995 with a mission of enhancing plant genetics, primarily within the food sector. The company, which is headquartered in Kingston and has research facilities in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Waterloo, New York, holds more than 100 global patents for genes that improve the yield, performance and sustainability of crops and ornamental plants. In recent years, Performance Plants has expanded its market focus to include developing a range of energy crops tailored specifically for industrial users.

“The whole biofuels area opened up for us because purposegrown energy feedstocks offered a great opportunity for PPI to apply our already developed plant traits and technologies in these new crops,” says Gellatly. “We decided to develop our own varieties of crops – biomass, non-food crops – that are easy to grow and produce high yields. Farmers can grow these crops on marginal lands, and the price per ton will give them good return on their investment. Farmers will gain a consistent alternative crop and access to new markets, while the purpose-grown bioenergy feedstocks will be inexpensive enough that companies like Lafarge can make the switch to using biomass to replace coal.”

There are several factors that need to be considered when switching from coal to biomass. Together, Lafarge and Performance Plants will identify which crop will produce the best yield for Lafarge’s purposes; the best time to harvest; how to maintain soil sustainability; how to convert the crops into fuel; and plan the economics involved with switching from coal to biomass.

A concern that has been raised in recent years with regard to the use of biomass is the use of potential food sources for fuel. Lafarge, in conjunction with ELORIN and Performance Plants, is meeting this concern head on.

The Kingston region provides a significant amount of land that is unsuitable for growing food crops, but can be used for growing biomass crops. By targeting these lands and using only non-food energy crops, Lafarge intends to pursue sustainable methods in acquiring biomass for its Bath production facility. This approach ensures that Lafarge’s use of biomass will not adversely impact the region’s valuable food resources and food-producing lands, nor will it affect food prices.

The partnership between Lafarge and Performance Plants could result in a surge of economic development for Kingston and its surrounding communities. The two companies have already engaged some farmers in the region and will be hosting a workshop for farmers and seed suppliers to share information.

“We are always looking for opportunities to enhance environmental sustainability, particularly through the use of innovation,” says McDonald. “Our goal in this region is to make connections. In this case, it’s an industry to industry connection – we focus on entrepreneurs and startups, and provide services and support to those in our region so they can reach the next level of business competitiveness.”

ELORIN is a not-for-profit organization (partially funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation) with a mandate to enhance the economic competitiveness of regional companies through innovation. The ELORIN region spans eastern Ontario, reaching from Northumberland County through to Leeds and Grenville and north to the tip of Hastings County. One of ELORIN’s current initiatives is the development of a land survey that will identify areas within the region that are suitable for growing biofuel crops. The survey is one of many initiatives currently being undertaken by ELORIN to enhance the business edge of the region’s environmentally minded companies.