JONES PACKAGING
Energy audit saved 17 percent in energy costs

Jones Packaging was founded in 1882 to serve the packaging needs of the Canadian pharmacy market. Today Jones Packaging, headquartered in London, Ontario, is a fourth generation family company servicing a multitude of national and international firms with a broad spectrum of products, including food packaging. Jones operates out of two manufacturing locations and one distribution centre in Canada with 423 employees.

Since 2004, Jones has developed and maintained a certified Environmental Management System which sets annual objectives and targets for the company. In 2006, one of the objectives was to reduce energy consumption by five per cent from lighting changes in its manufacturing and warehousing facilities in London and Guelph.

A detailed lighting audit revealed that 30 per cent of energy usage in the two facilities was from lighting, and that the company could reduce lighting energy consumption by 50 per cent, representing a reduction in overall energy consumption for the company of almost 16 per cent.

Jones decided to move ahead with its London facility. Over a two week period, Jones replaced High Intensity Discharge (HID) Metal Halide lighting with fluorescent platform lighting, which is 50 per cent more energy efficient. Jones also installed motion sensors in its warehouse so that lights are turned off when there are no employees or movement in the area.

As a result, Jones was able to reduce the plant’s energy consumption from lighting by almost 12 per cent (surpassing its original goal of five per cent), for a total reduction in energy consumption of almost 17 per cent. Tracking of this savings will be continued over the 2007 year.

Jones’s employees have been extremely pleased with the positive impact of the new lighting on their working environment. The bulbs chosen for the facility create a brighter, day-like atmosphere, thereby reducing eye strain.

The success of the London facility lighting project has impressed upon Jones the importance of energy management for cutting costs and caring for the environment. In 2007, Jones is planning a similar lighting replacement project for its Guelph facility, a compressed air management program, as well as energy consumption awareness training program for its employees.

“An energy audit is a valuable tool for identifying and benchmarking savings, and for kick-starting the implementation of an energy management plan with financial and environmental rewards,” Ron Harris, President of Jones Packaging.

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