"I have learned you are never too small to make a difference." Greta Thunberg.

The Wanner group of companies has customers, partners and suppliers all around the world, and it’s our mission to make a difference by helping our customers to facilitate far more environmentally sound and safe pumping processes as part of their overall operations.

Earlier this year, Brussels revealed their breakthrough ‘fit for 55’ plan to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The recent COP26 conference reiterated that emissions reductions targets are needed to reach net zero by the middle of the century.

So at Wanner, if we can set a precedent in communicating the importance we place on acting responsibly for sustainability, chances are we might be in with a shot of leading by example and influence others. If this does start to happen then the cumulative impact of businesses linked to ours, starts to look more substantial, and the premise of never being too small to make a difference starts to have real meaning. This is our priority. We want to do the best we can for our planet today, best for our future and our grandchildren’s futures.

Love or hate Greta’s approach to climate change activism, climate change is real. It’s hard to argue differently when this year alone we have seen an increasingly devastating series of climate disasters around the world, taking lives, homes, livelihoods and destroying ecosystems. From soaring temperatures causing wildfires that ravaged Greece and Australia to unprecedented levels of rainfall that led to severe flooding in Germany and South Asia. Around the world, everyone is, and will be affected by climate change.

And every industry must play its part, including those industries who are the biggest contributors to emissions such as the natural gas industry. We are already seeing companies switching to “blue” hydrogen as a low-carbon alternative where carbon emissions are captured and stored or reused as well as more sustainable marine fuels being adopted for “greener” shipping with the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied biogas (LBG), ammonia, methanol and hydrogen.

From our perspective, what this means is that customers’ production processes and requirements are changing. Engineers have to consider different pump technologies to meet the requirements of new liquid handling and process specifications. With the increased need to pump “difficult”, abrasive and non-lubricating liquids, you need a pump that can reliably do all that in an efficient and energy saving way. And most importantly, to guarantee 100% containment of the process liquid, a pump that has a hermetically sealed pumping chamber will eliminate leaks into the atmosphere, reducing the emissions contribution of that company.

So this is how we start to facilitate change and make a meaningful contribution as a business in the chain that can play our part in enabling our customers’ businesses to reduce their environmental impact too. And we need to shout about it and encourage others to do the same. Because as Greta says, no matter how small, in what seems the grandest scale of the issue, we can make a difference.

 “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it." Robert Swan OBE, polar explorer turned environmentalist.

What we can do now is try to improve existing processes and systems that will contribute to lowering emissions, increasing energy efficiencies, and reducing waste. Our Hydra-Cell® API674, seal-less, packing-free pumps for transfer, injection, metering and dosing are designed to be highly efficient, enabling customers to make up to 50% energy saving and significant reduction in carbon emissions when they replace their existing pumps with ours. Not only this, but the seal-less design ensures 100% leak-free operation. This means that emissions, leakages and ground contamination around the pumps are eliminated protecting both the environment and operators.

In addition, our ATEX certification ensures suitability for use within hazardous or potentially explosive environments further reducing the risk of unsafe operation and consequence to both operators and the environment. The whole supply chain has a responsibility to ensure compliance with this certification with end user customers responsible for regular and planned maintenance of the installed pumps.

Furthermore globally, pumps in the industrial sector represent approximately 25% of the energy usage, and in pump intensive industries as much as 50%. So, choosing the right pump technology to optimise energy usage and reduce costs is critical.

Ultimately, a lower cost of ownership, low maintenance and 20+ years’ service life is the desired solution. Reducing the need to replace pumps every few years and therefore the materials and energy used to manufacture, deliver and install new pumps and dispose of the old.

So, helping all our clients reduce their carbon footprint has another impact – you can play your part in saving the world and save money too! This is exactly the type of innovation which will speed up our path to carbon neutrality and is a real positive.

"Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up.” - Greta Thunberg.