Green giant
February 1st 2007 Chinese manufacturing is not often thought of as being very environmentally conscious.But Neonlite Electronic & Lighting (HK) manufacturers of the Megaman brand of energy efficient lights proves that it can be both successful and green. Environmental good practice starts within the factory and follows through its products that have the potential to save large amounts of energy.The Megaman story bears testimony to the fact that the dragon can be green.Tim McManan-Smith reports Megaman manufactures a number of ranges of energy efficient lighting that can save up to 80% of electricity and last 10 times longer (10,000 hours) than coventional lamps. Its manufacturing plant is based in Xiamen, China with its marketing and distribution based in Hong Kong.Megaman has won numerous awards for the environmental management of its facilities and for its products' energy saving credentials. One always thinks of Chinese companies making cheap products without a care for the environment. This could not be more wrong, as I found out when I met up with Mr Foo managing director of Megaman. The company seems to be firmly grounded in good environmental best practice.Considering you started in 1992 when this was not vogue,why is it that you put such importance on the environment and energy saving? Megaman is perhaps quite unusual in that, from the very start,we recognised our potential to impact on the environment and took a proactive stance to minimise that environmental impact. It all comes down to recognising that we have an obligation to the planet and, in the long term, failing in that obligation does not benefit anybody. As a result,we have applied that philosophy to all of our activities, from the products we make to the way we make them and the facilities we use for manufacture and distribution. In many ways, the world is now catching up with us in this respect and we certainly gain commercial advantage from being a pioneer in environmental responsibility, in addition to the environmental benefits from which everybody gains. The products you produce save a great deal of energy, do you employ such good measures throughout your factories? I know you have things such as the waste lamp tube treatment centre but how do you look at your own energy and water costs? Making optimum use of our resources makes sound financial sense as well as being a cornerstone of environmental policy. Consequently,we monitor consumption of resources very carefully and regularly assess the potential for reducing consumption. All of these factors are documented in our ISO 14001 environmental policy to provide a framework that keeps such issues at the top of the agenda. In the last year, for example,we have changed over our electric heating to LPG-fired infra red heaters with a programmed monitoring system to improve efficiency. In the coming year,we will include units of water, electricity and gas consumed in our Bill of Materials to provide tighter monitoring of these resources as well.We have also installed new plant for water treatment which yields grey water for grounds maintenance and other water usage not requiring potable water. In addition,we have installed sufficient standby generation to ensure that production can be maintained in the event of power failure.This benefits the entire supply chain and helps us maintain efficiency, which in turn ensures that our environmental processes are not impacted by unplanned downtime. The key factor is that we do not rest on our laurels and are continually looking for other areas that can be improved. The contribution that your products make to energy efficiency will help to reduce carbon emissions, but aren't these counteracted by the explosion in economies such as China through the growth of companies such as your own? As far as Megaman is concerned, the products we produce invariably replace products that cause greater environmental impact, so the net effect is that we save more energy globally than we consume in manufacturing the products. For example,many of our fluorescent products have been designed as direct replacements for incandescent lamps, enabling people to upgrade to more efficient lighting very cost-effectively. Another important environmental consideration is the longevity of the products.Megaman compact fluorescent lamps provide a useful life of 15,000 hours, compared to around 6-8000 hours for conventional CFLs.This longer life means that fewer lamps have to be disposed of so that the environmental impact of lamp disposal is also reduced. This is particularly important with regard to the recently implemented WEEE Directive. We also feel that Megaman is an important role model for other companies in China and further afield. For that reason,we are at pains to publicise the fact that commercial success and environmental considerations are not mutually exclusive. What is the biggest reason that people specify Megaman products? Is it energy efficiency or other reasons? Energy efficiency is clearly a key consideration in the majority of lighting specifications nowadays and we believe the higher efficiency and longer life of our products are key factors in Megaman being specified.The fact that, as noted above,we also offer many energyefficient retrofit solutions for existing inefficient lighting installations also plays a key role. Philips has recently announced that they wish to see incandescent bulbs replaced within the next ten years.This is a bold statement from a major producer of incandescent bulbs,what is your view on this? Do you think that the law should be used to force people to take up new energy efficient technology or should the market be left to decide for itself what to buy? We welcome the statement from Philips and the impetus it may give to phasing out incandescent light sources in favour of more efficient lamps.The important thing is that suitable replacements are in place for every application so that specifiers and consumers can make a real choice. In this way the phasing out of incandescent bulbs will be driven by market forces, which we believe is favourable to the use of legislation to achieve this goal. Are people still afraid to buy energy efficient technology such as Megaman's products because the purchase cost is higher, even though in the long run they will save money from increased lifetimes and low energy costs? This is largely a matter of education and there is clear evidence that people are more aware of the cost of ownership argument and recognise these benefits.This is clearly evidenced in the growth of energy efficient light sources across all sectors.While it was first recognised by large companies and energyconscious specifiers,we believe the message is now widely accepted at all levels, down to individual householders. What efforts is Megaman making to ensure that its suppliers and distributors are up to the same high environmental standards as it is? Megaman has been accredited SA8000 for social responsibility management system and is required to audit its suppliers not only for the environmental issues, but also for other issues such as health and safety and additional labour-related issues.Megaman also keeps suppliers updated with all relevant legislative and best practice requirements including WEEE, RoHS and EuP, to ensure that high environmental standards are maintained More articles from Megaman (UK )Ltd: | 
