As Delta Electronics celebrates its golden anniversary, its innovative energy-saving solutions and unwavering commitment to conservation continue to be the cornerstones of the company’s environmental, social & governance (ESG) strategy.
The company – a world leader in highly efficient power and thermal management solutions – is a globally recognised corporate citizen. This is no empty platitude – Delta’s pledge of care to the environment and exceptional focus on corporate responsibility is woven throughout its entire business model.
Indeed, founder Mr. Bruce Cheng is known as the godfather of energy conservation in Taiwan, where his business was founded.
EMEA President & General Manager Dalip Sharma is justifiably proud of Delta’s global contribution to energy-efficient solutions and environmental activism. “Our company ethos is based on creating a better future for everyone. Our core competencies in high-efficiency power electronics and the ESG embedded business model are leveraged to address key environmental issues such as climate change, and this is one of the key values we base our work on every day.”
Delta, which was founded in 1971, specialises in power electronics, automation and infrastructure products, with their energy efficiency regarded among the best in the world.
Their mission statement ‘to provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow’ sets the company above its global competitors by putting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and energy-saving solutions at the very heart of its business model.
Delta certainly ‘walks the walk’, with an impressive portfolio which includes: switching power supplies with over 90% efficiency, telecom power (up to 98% efficiency), and PV inverters (up to 99.2% efficiency). The company also developed the world’s first server power supply certified as 80 Plus Titanium with over 96% efficiency.
It would be impossible to list all the company’s ‘green’ achievements, so here are just a few key facts:
- Delta has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability™ World Index (DJSI World) for 10 years in a row.
- Ranked ‘A’ twice at Climate Change Leadership Level by CDP, a non-profit organisation based in the UK, Japan, India, China, Germany and the United States of America, that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental impact, and aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm.
- Delta was also named as a supplier engagement leader for its continuous work on a sustainable value chain.
The company is a passionate advocate of the Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce global warming to under two degrees. As Mr Sharma explains, Delta is determined to go further, “Over the last decade, we have helped customers reduce their electrical consumption by about 33.5 billion kilowatt hours, and cut CO2 emissions by 17.8 million tonnes. That is equal to reducing emissions in 1.7 million homes.”
Mr Sharma continues, “Delta is also a firm advocate of increasing global awareness around biodiversity and protection of the natural ecosystem. The Delta Electronics Foundation has worked closely with stakeholders to preserve fragile marine ecosystems.”
Extended efforts are underway on a marine conservation volunteer programme to support 28 species and over 1000 coral reefs. Mr Sharma says, “Our employees play a very strong role in the Foundation’s success, and of course the company’s ongoing production of world-class energy-efficient solutions.”
However, he points out, “That’s not to say we can rest on our laurels. We still have a lot to do, by continuously setting benchmarks for our industry colleagues to follow. There are challenges to overcome of course, as current technology has its limits, but our research programme is driving innovation continuously. Even small percentage points of improvements in energy efficiency are critical. Today, what seems like a huge challenge could see huge a breakthrough in five years’ time.”
Influencing 50, Embracing 50 is the theme of Delta’s gold anniversary celebrations, and the emphasis is strongly on promoting global development while protecting the environment through lower carbon emissions.
Mr Sharma adds, “Sustainability has always been one of Delta’s core values, and we are regarded as one of the pioneers in this field. Our ESG targets are based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: affordable and clean energy; industrial and innovative infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; partnerships for the goals; and quality education.
“We have taken part in the UN’s climate change conferences since 2007, enabling us to share our success in lowering the carbon footprint for over 15 years.”
And, as a member of the RE100 initiative (which brings together the world’s most influential companies committed to 100% renewable energy), Delta aims to convert all its business operations to 100% renewable energy by 2030. Delta’s own rooftop solar PV systems already provide clean electricity to its factories worldwide while electricity usage in its offices and factories was already halved by 2014, and reduced by another 30% by last year.
Mr Sharma explains. “We are currently focusing our energy conservation efforts on the use of self-generated solar energy and self-contained energy storage. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 on a large global scale will definitely be a great achievement.”
Delta invests over 8% of its global revenues – amounting to approx. 9.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 – to R&D. Mr Sharma adds, “Our innovations and products in the three key categories of power electronics, automation and infrastructure are designed to nurture the development of smart manufacturing and sustainable cities.”
One of Delta’s flagship projects involved installing 21,000 streetlights in a smart city in Jakarta, Indonesia, and “with its wireless networking capability and management systems, this has improved not only energy efficiency in the cities, but provided citizens with a safer living environment.”
“We have designed over 29 green (smart) factories and offices and two clean data centres. This has saved 18.48 million kW hours of electricity and about 11,685 tonnes of CO2. One of the examples is our EMEA headquarters based in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. It has been retrofitted from an old office building, saving over 65% in energy consumption annually through Delta’s own solar, energy storage, building automation, LED lighting and green data solutions, and our employees are provided with EV chargers. We have also recently built a new office in Helmond, Netherlands, which will be the base for our industrial automation business. Its rigorous environmental standards are set to achieve LEED gold green building certification.”
Mr Sharma continues, “We are immensely proud of our initiatives to date, but moving forward, the focus will be on electrification and e-mobility. Delta is a major stakeholder in the sector, both on- and off-board, from the components inside electric trains and cars, to being tier 1 supplier in automotive electronics for several top EV makers in Europe and North America. We also have a very big stake in vehicle chargers, having shipped over 1 million globally. In Yokohama, Japan, Delta and its local partner transformed an old gas station into an EV charging station and smart coffee shop, to provide an efficient, convenient and comfortable experience for EV drivers. This is how we see the future of e-mobility.”
Nearer home, Delta’s ultra-fast EV chargers have been installed in Volkswagen’s distribution hub in Kent, and for a major food distributor in Wales, with more UK partnerships are underway.
Delta is also a big investor in new technologies for electrification, with its own lithium battery manufacturing plant making large storage batteries, plus power conditioning system (PCS) and energy management (EMS) system providing smart energy management solutions for business and domestic use.
Looking forward to COP26, Mr Sharma is hopeful that the Race to Zero campaign will mobilise more stakeholders to make net zero commitments, “The aim is to attract signatories from the businesses that account for 25% of carbon tax and emissions. So far 1000s of cities, businesses investors and educators have signed up. It will be a fantastic achievement if COP26 creates even more momentum around the shift to decarbonise the economy through green solutions.”
And the next 50 years? “Delta is looking forward to even greater advances to lower carbon emissions, as well as concentrating even more global attention on marine ecology.”
