The sustainable development strategy that represents an integral part of the business strategies of all Delta Holding businesses includes a plan to achieve a 60% reduction in the use of fossil fuel energy by 2030
Defined ESG improvement plans have established ambitious yet realistic goals with which one of Serbia’s largest companies is achieving a positive impact on nature and society, as well as advnacing the economic environment.
Does Delta Holding have a green transition strategy?
— With our environmental protection strategy, we have set plans to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel energy by 60% by 2030. In order for us to achieve this goal, we have been investing in renewable energy sources since 2021 and currently have solar power plants constructed in 16 locations. They have a total power capacity of approximately 5MWh. The plan is to install solar panels at eight more locations this year.
Apart from solar energy, we also use biomass in our work processes. We use corn husks at the Seme Sombor factory, sunflower husks at the Dunavka oil factory and soybean straw as an energy source at the Napredak farm. Renewables account for 25% of total energy consumption.
We use corn husks at the seme Sombor factory, sunflower husks at the Dunavka oil factory and soybean straw as an energy source at the Napredak farm
We will also reduce emissions of harmful gases with our transition to renewables, while we also plan to reduce the amount of generated and discarded waste and packaging, as well as fully utilising waste as a raw material for new products.
Among the members of Delta Holding is the company Delta-Pak, which offers services as an operator for the management of packaging waste and an advisor in the areas of the environment, chemicals and the transport of hazardous goods. It performs these jobs for Delta Holding members, but also for external clients.
Is it easy to achieve green transition in your two core business areas of the agricultural and real estate sectors?
— Large investments are implied in the green transition of both sectors. At Delta Agrar we are achieving reductions in emissions yearon- year through precision agriculture and investments in renewables. Contributing to this is modern machinery equipped with GPS, as well as systems for variable rate seeding, variable fertiliser application and irrigation. The use of drones instead of tractors in the plant protection process has additionally contributed to the reduction of fuel consumption.
As an example of modern building construction and renovation practices, UNIDOM balls made entirely from recycled plastic were used in the construction of the new Delta House office building and resulted in CO2 emissions being reduced by as much as 336 tons. The heating and cooling system also implies an economical mode of operation with motion, temperature and CO2 concentration sensors, bipolar ionizers and the cleaning of air particles that also save energy. The roof of the building is installed with solar panels, as well as a collection tank for rainwater that is used as technical water in the toilets. Delta House thereby satisfied all standards and received LEED Gold certification.
The building of the Sava Centre will have a BREAM certificate following the completion of renovation works. It’s single-pane glass has been replaced with more energy- efficient triple-pane glass, while new materials were used to insulate concrete wall surfaces and it has the latest building heating and cooling systems. Solar panels with a capacity of 472 kWh have also been installed on the roof, all of which have led to estimates that the building will consume at least 30% less energy than it did prior to the renovation.