SDG Decoded: SDG #7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
In our next chapter of SDG Decoded, in which we learn how the denim community is tackling the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, we turn our attention to SDG #7 – Affordable and Clean Energy.
According to the UN, about 800 million people in this world still lack electricity; companies committed to advancing this goal help to increase access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.
Read on for how Erak, Iskur, Kipas and Saitex are doing their part.
Erak
Carved in Blue: How are you tackling SDG #7?
Ezgi Buyuk, fabric and accessories R&D chief: Our investments are mainly focused on reducing consumption of energy and water, as well as the discharged water out of our facilities. New technology developments are helping us a lot to achieve on these goals.
Carved in Blue: What does this goal mean for your company?
Ezgi: Being a major player in textile industry gives you a great responsibility about your impact on the environment. Caring about the environment and thinking ahead of the present time is a must-have ability.
Carved in Blue: How do you see this shaping up for 2020?
Ezgi: The climate will alarm more for sure, and all companies, governments and brands will be forced to take more serious actions.
Iskur
Carved in Blue: How are you tackling SDG #7
Özlem Ozkan, head of research and product development: We are tackling it through our use of solar and wind energy, as well as through our We Are Water program.
Our solar panels installed on the roofs of our factories generate 5.64 GWh electricity per year. As a pioneering development in Turkey, the factories use both roof elevation and onsite systems. The electricity generated here meets the energy need of Iskur Group factories.
Our wind turbines are located in the district of Andırın. The resulting energy of 70 million kWh is delivered to facilities throughout Iskur Group’s electricity distribution company.
In our We Are Water program, we have developed a new process for indigo dyeing. With this process, we observed no distinctive difference from the conventional production technique in terms of color, fastness and mechanical features of the fabrics. However, by eliminating washing phases in standard rope dyeing process, we observed water saving of up to 95 percent.
Moreover, since there is no wastewater, no water goes through refining, enabling us to save energy. For the observation and approval of the We Are Water project, we conducted operations with the Department of Textile Engineering at Cukurova University.
Moreover, we conducted a water footprint project with the company Carbon Trust, for which the measurements continued throughout 2019.
Kipas
Carved in Blue: How are you tackling SDG #7?
Halit Gümüşer, member of board: We are addressing it through sustainable production of yarns, fabrics and denim with minimum resource usage in water and energy, maximum recycling technologies and minimum hazardous discharge.
Through our conscious production system with environmentally friendly methods and the latest recycling technologies, we are tackling waste and pollution. In fact, Kipaş’s recycled Denim by Denim fabrics are produced with zero water and zero chemicals.
Some of the results include 42 percent wastewater recycling, with intent to reach 100 percent by 2025. We have also seen a decrease in carbon emissions by 97 percent by switching to renewable energy. We aim to become a carbon-positive company by 2025.
Saitex
Carved in Blue: How are you tackling SDG #7?
Sanjeev Bahl, founder: Saitex produces all the heat for the laundry with a boiler that only uses biomass, which is a renewable source of energy.
Additionally, it has installed solar panels on the roofs of two of its factories, and is looking to expand this project. The mill area will have a solar system which will require special permits from the Vietnamese government to exceed the normally allowed capacity.