The lead consultant of the Energy Service Centre at the Association of Ghana Industries, Michael Ampeh Boateng, has advised businesses to transition, as it would yield positive results for such factories.
Following Ghana’s journey to achieving Net Zero Emission, marked by significant progress and ambitious goals, the government has recognized the importance of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and has implemented various initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking at the Energy Transition Forum on Citi TV, the lead consultant of the Energy Service Centre at the Association of Ghana Industries, Michael Ampeh Boateng, says it is important for existing businesses to consider transition but not focus solely on energy transition. Rather, they should also focus on material transition.
“Anytime you transition, you are becoming more competitive at the end of the day, so it’s not gloomy or negative. It’s extremely good for a factory to transition. And it’s not only the energy that a factory has to take care of in transition. We also have to take care of material use. If you have machines, and for one whole week, they are idle, you are wasting money. If you consume one ton of raw materials and your product is 10% of it, and going forward you consume one ton, and your product is 150 kilos, then you are seen to be efficient. If you consume one ton, and your product is 50 kilos, you are not efficient.”
Meanwhile, he advised new factories, especially big companies such as mines, to make use of materials around them while transitioning to reduce emissions.
“There are big projects and there are small ones. With small ones, thousands of projects could be done for young people. You could go in as an entrepreneur with where we are going with transition. All the big companies, the mines, and the factories need specific items for what they are processing. And anytime you pick the item from, you are in Accra and you pick from Accra, the emission cost is low. When you pick from Nigeria, the emission cost is high. That means raw materials must be close around; that’s where the opportunity is.”
