Unilever Khanyisa

LEED Commissioning 

Unilever Khanyisa is a home-care liquids factory situated in Boksburg, Johannesburg. The factory produces popular brands such as Omo, Handy Andy, Domestos, Comfort and Sunlight amongst others. The facility includes a manufacturing plant, warehouses, utility areas, production offices and an amenities building. Ecolution supported the design team in the Fundamental Commissioning process as per Ashrae 0-2005.

Client Name: Unilever
Project Location: Boksburg, Johannesburg
Project Footprint152,689.17 ft2
Commissioning type: LEED 2009 – Fundamental 
Certification Targeted: LEED Silver
Certification Achieved: LEED Gold
Modelled % Improvement: 26%
Predicted water use reduction: 51%

 

Project Details

Project Features: 

  • Energy efficient lighting with automatic occupancy sensors 
  • Day/night switches for external lighting
  • HVAC&R system controls and efficiency 
  • Rain water harvesting plant 
  • Wastewater treatment plant
  • Heat pumps generating hot water
  • Hot water system insulation and efficient hot water controls 
  • Energy efficient ratings for all pumps and motors

Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) is a plan to reduce the carbon footprint of the Unilever operations while aiming to double the size of the business. The Khanyisa site is planned to deliver a 50% reduction in the carbon emission footprint and as much as 70% reduction in water usage per ton. This plant forms a massive part of Unilever’s R3 billion Capacity Transformation Project investment all in line with USLP. 

Ecolution Consulting was appointed as the Commissioning Authority (CxA) and therefore guided and supported the design team in the Fundamental Commissioning process. 

A few details of the systems to be commissioned at the Unilever factory include: 

  • Energy efficient lighting with automatic occupancy sensors as well as day/night switches
  • HVAC&R system insulation and efficiency 
  • Rainwater harvesting plant 
  • Wastewater treatment plant
  • Heat pumps
  • Energy efficiency ratings for all pumps and motors
  • Sealing of the building envelope 

In order to ensure that the installed systems adhered to the requirements of Unilever, all energy-related systems and water conservation systems were subjected to installed and Functional Performance Tests.