Action planning

Companies should first implement mitigation solutions aimed at reducing their GHG emissions, and then, move towards financing offset actions for unavoidable emissions. To reduce GHG emissions related to their activities, it is recommended to conduct an energy audit, with energy being one of the most GHG-emitting items, as well as a feasibility study to resort to solar PV. The Macedonian Ministry of Economy provides a list of certified energy controllers (in Macedonian).

Before implementing its action plan, the company must evaluate the different paths according to the difficulty of implementation, the return on investment time, and the impact on the reduction of GHG emissions.

More details? Please find some exemplary decarbonisation actions for the industry below:

Preventive maintenance & optimisation

• Regular monitoring of energy consumption to identify anomalies or failures
• Shutting down or powering off unused equipment
• Frequent cleaning of heat transfer surfaces (coils, radiant tubes) to avoid fouling and maintain high efficiency of heating, cooling, and refrigeration systems
• Calibration and regular maintenance of sensors and controllers (pressure, temperature, flow)
• Regular maintenance and periodic replacement of filters to reduce pressure losses
• Frequent and proper maintenance of insulation on thermal networks (steam, hot water, cooling water) and equipment (exchangers, pasteurisers, boilers) to reduce losses, prevent condensation, and keep process temperature more constant
• Detection and elimination of leaks in all distribution networks (compressed air, water)
• Inspection and repair of steam traps on the steam network
• Automatic operation of doors in cold rooms/refrigerated warehouses to reduce refrigeration load
• Pool draining based on water quality readings to optimise the use of process heat
• Use of controlled valve for boiler draining
• Cleaning process automation
• Installation of an energy management system

High-efficiency equipment

• Properly size equipment to avoid oversizing (extra costs)
• High-efficiency motors
• Electronically commutated motors
• Frequency inverters on variable load motors
• High-efficiency variable frequency air compressors, adjust pressure to actual needs, reduce leaks, and utilise the cooling air from compressors
• Plate exchangers instead of shell and tube exchangers
• Thermostatic steam traps

Heat recovery and process integration

• Recover heat from combustion chimney exhaust gases, condensate return, and chemical reaction products to preheat combustion air, water, materials, or fresh air
• For large industrial installations, analyse the energy consumption of processes as a whole rather than independently
• Consider all energy flows to determine where heat can be recovered and how it can be used

Energy substitution

• Solar PV for self-production is a cost-effective solution if space is available
• Contract with suppliers of decarbonised energies (solar, wind, biomass, etc.)
• Use biodiesel or biogas, fuels produced from renewable materials, to directly replace diesel and fuel oil in existing equipment (engines and boilers)
• Substitute oil-fired boiler with a gas or biomass boiler in cooking, sterilisation, separation, and drying processes by exploiting their existing steam networks
• Adjust energy contracts (electricity, etc.) to reduce supply costs

Process emissions reduction

Non-energy emissions from the industrial sector are also significant and mainly come from processes (e.g., CO₂ from the production techniques of aluminium, cement, and steel), agriculture (e.g., CH₄ from enteric fermentation and soil management), and waste management. To reduce these emissions, decarbonising inputs is possible:

• Use of "green" hydrogen as an input in the production of ammonia, fertilisers, steel, and petroleum products
• Use of biogas as an input in plastic production, ore reduction, and several other petrochemical processes
• Partial substitution of clinker by pozzolan, fly ash, etc., in cement production

Circular economy

The circular economy aims to produce goods and services sustainably by limiting resource consumption and waste generation. This model is based on creating positive value cycles at each usage or reuse of material or product before final disposal. It emphasises new design, production, and consumption modes, extending product usage life, using rather than owning goods, reusing, and recycling components.