Moscow, Russia, October 5, 2010 —
A new report from
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, reveals that Russia’s iron and steel foundry industry could save up to $3.3 billion annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide by 4.5 million tons a year by matching European Union standards in the use of natural resources.
The first Russian cross-sector benchmarking study,
Resource Efficiency of the Ferrous Foundry Industry,
compares Russian and European foundry sectors, showcasing efficiency potential and providing practical guidelines to individual foundries as well as to the broader sector.
The report finds that Russian foundries use three times more energy, 160 times more water, nearly four times more sand, and 14 percent more metal per ton of good ferrous castings product in comparison with European foundries, while the average production volume per Russian employee is nearly four times lower than in the European Union.
“If Russian foundries were able to match the efficiency of the best-performing EU plants, the energy saved would be sufficient to power a typical Russian city of 1.5 million people. Also, by matching EU standards in water efficiency, Russia would save enough water to supply 3.5 million residents,” said IFC’s Kristina Turilova, task manager for the study.
To achieve this high efficiency, Russian foundries need to invest more in technology modernization. The study highlights that significant savings could be achieved through improved management practices or other low-cost initiatives. This potential is often overlooked by foundry owners, as almost half of Russia’s foundries do not monitor the use of resources at the workshop level.
The study was conducted as part of IFC’s Cleaner Production Program in Eastern Europe and Central Asia with financial support from the Free State of Saxony; the Netherlands’ Agency for International Business and Cooperation; the Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland; and IFC.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
For more information about IFC’s partners, visit
The Netherlands’ Agency for International Business and Cooperation,
www.evd.nl
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland,
www.tem.fi
