Wieland Group, a German supplier specializing in copper and copper alloy products, including tubes for CO2 (R744) HVAC&R applications, reported in the company’s 2021/2022 Sustainability Report that its new generation of evaporator tubes (GEWA-B) had “lower [scope 3 greenhouse gas] emissions for energy consumption, the use of refrigerants, and the procurement of raw materials.”
Scope 3 emissions are those that a company is indirectly responsible for down its value chain. This is Wieland’s third sustainability report.
The company used the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for its first-ever analysis of its tubes’ GHG emissions in various scenarios “in detail within the cradle-to-gate system boundary and for the use phase,” the company said.
A reduction of scope 3 emissions was seen when comparing two different generations of shell-and-tube heat exchangers having the same efficiency, the company said, with the GEWA-B tubes reducing CO2e emissions by 50% in material procurement.
As nucleate boiling tubes, the GEWA-B product is “optimized for flooded and falling film evaporators in packed chillers for the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry,” Wieland says in a brochure. The tubes are available in various materials, including copper, copper alloys and stainless steel.
Seeking net-zero
The 200-year-old, family-owned company has increased its 2030 emission target reductions to 46.2% individually for scopes 1, 2 and 3 and intends to be net-zero by 2045. “This is ambitious but feasible given clear sustainability management,” said Erwin Mayr, CEO of the Wieland Group.
For direct production (scope 1) emissions reductions, the company plans to systematically electrify its gas-fired plants, acknowledging doing so has the potential to increase its indirect emissions from energy consumption (scope 2).
“Efficient energy management and the procurement of green energy are key factors in the quest to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 emissions,” Wieland said, adding that the company owns photovoltaic systems supplying 0.75MWp to its Ulm, Germany, facility and 2.2MWp to its facility in Singapore.
The company intends to expand photovoltaic production up to 50MWp and has announced plans to build a 24-hectare (59.3-acre) solar park in Erbach, Germany, with an expected production of 26GWh a year.
To reduce its scope 3 emissions, Wieland seeks further expansion of its recycling activities, reducing the use of high-emission primary metals. “In the year under review, we were able to increase the recycled content in our Group-wide product portfolio to 75.6%,” Wieland reported, adding that it aims to achieve over 90% recycled content by 2030.
Last year, Wieland reported cutting its GHG emissions by 10%. The London-based Carbon Disclosure Project recently put Wieland in the top 36% of its international peers in the “climate change” category.
The environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) evaluator EcoVadis awarded the company a silver medal in January 2023 based on sustainability and corporate social responsibility, an upgrade from its 2022 bronze medal.
“Our target is to further improve Wieland’s sustainability performance and, thus, our rating results,” said Mayr.
“[The new tubes have] lower GHG emissions for energy consumption, the use of refrigerants, and the procurement of raw materials.”
Wieland 2021/2022 Sustainability Report
