Climate Change Learning Conference

The Business Case for Climate Change

Thursday July 17th 2014 • The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel

Presented by: Vaughn Morris

Benefits to the Business Bottom Line

SEAL Sprayed Solutions is a private limited liability company and a member of the

Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association, the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association Of

Jamaica, and the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance- A business unit of the American

Plastics Council.

SEAL specialises in the waterproofing of buildings through the application of various

energy efficient and environmentally friendly cool roof technologies. Primarily, we

manufacture Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) which provides the most efficient

insulation available commercially. Spray Polyurethane, as the name suggests, is a

polyurethane that is sprayed onto a roof or structure as a liquid which hardens

instantly to form an 1" - 1½" thick insulation barrier against water and heat. SPF can

be applied to a variety of roof types- concrete slab, metal, wood, shingles etc. to

substantially reduce the heat loading on the building, and in effect reducing the

energy required to cool the building by up to 40%.

SEAL also offers Silicone coatings for waterproofing and cooling of roofs. Our Poly-

Sil line of coatings are Energy Star and Cool Roof Rated ® and form part of the cool

roof and “green” technologies available in Jamaica. Silicones are more affordable but

not as insulation efficient compared to SPF. This cost effective alternative consists

of a brilliant white elastomeric coating that relies on reflectivity rather than true

insulation to make a building cooler.

Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) being applied to top of roof

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation being applied to inside of building

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation applied to walls

Brilliant white Silicone being applied over a dark membrane roof.

Business Bottom Line

The story of Seal Sprayed Solutions is one of a fortuitous accident. Back in 2001, I

was in another business venture and our office roof was leaking terribly. Long story

short, we used a newly emerging technology for Jamaica- SPF, and loved the results,

more so that our light bill was reduced by almost half. No More Leaks, No More

Heat.

Myself and another business partner bought out the one man company that did the

job, and together with him, SEAL was formed in 2002 with all new equipment and

technology. We haven’t looked back, and now have 50 persons on staff, with over 10

million square feet of SPF installed to over 1,200 buildings, and have a fully

operational subsidiary in Trinidad that serves the Eastern Caribbean.

Although SEAL’s main objective is to provide energy saving technologies to our

Clients, we also employ best practice systems within our manufacturing process to

mitigate against climate change.

In 2013, under a UNDP/NEPA Phaseout Project for use of HCFC in the Foam

Manufacturing Sector in Jamaica, Seal signed a MOU to only import raw materials

that do not contain Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) such as HCFC 141-b.

Under this MOU, we received a technical and financial grant to:

-Attend a “Workshop Assessment of HCFC Alternatives” in Sao Paulo, Brazil,

-Purchase Non- Ozone Depleting raw materials for trials,

-Retrofit equipment, and

-Train our spray technicians in use of these new climate friendly raw materials.

It should be noted that these new HCFC free raw materials are more expensive, but

part of the grant is used to help offset this cost, thereby enabling SEAL to hold cost

down for our Clients.

SEAL also employs best practices with regards to internal waste management- we

recycle used 55 gallon drums for use as garbage receptacles (which we donate to

schools etc.). Our Silicone products contain Zero VOC’s (Volatile Organic

Compounds) and are NSF certified for potable water use. As such the used plastic

pails are in high demand for water storage and mostly given away to our staff.

Equipment retrofitted to handle the new HCFC free raw materials

Used drums recycled for use as garbage cans

In terms of energy management, our office building is insulated as is expected (walls

and roof), LED lighting was installed, and air-conditioning units upgraded to mini-

split systems. The result is our modest 700 square foot office has an electricity bill in

the region of J$20,000 per month.

As mentioned, SEAL’s core business is to provide energy efficient technologies to

our Clients, thereby enabling them to benefit from substantial energy savings in the

case of commercial and industrial users of heavy cooling requirements, and in the

case of residential Clients- to enjoy a cooler more comfortable living environment.

Those of you who live in concrete slab roofed houses will probably identify with this

need, especially over the hot summer months- unless of course you are already one

of our Clients.

A further benefit of SPF on certain roof types, is that it forms a monolithic covering

on top or under the entire roof which adds tremendous strengthening to the roof

structure against windstorm or hurricane events. SPF can practically make your

sheeted or tiled roof hurricane proof. Also, there is usually no need to tear off the old

roof to apply SPF, thereby reducing waste disposal impact on the city dump.

With a typical payback period of 3 - 5 years, and service life of several decades

with minimum maintenance, SPF insulation is a win-win solution- for the Client’s

bottom line, and for our planet.

In a nutshell, less energy use for cooling our buildings, lower electricity bills, and

less scarce foreign exchange needed to purchase expensive imported fuel for

electricity generation. A cost which by all indications will continue to trend up.

All of us would like to see our energy use and bills go down- if not for the altruistic

sake of the impact on climate change, certainly for the sake of our pockets.

It only makes sense for a small island nation with scarce foreign exchange and a fuel

import bill in excess of US$2.0 B

It only makes sense that as a small island that relies heavily on a pristine environment

to attract tourists, an island that is susceptible and vulnerable to climate change, an

island with one of the highest energy cost in the region.

It only make sense- to encourage energy conservation as a matter of practice

and policy.

I commend the present government for recognising this, and on August1, 2006,

polyurethane roof insulation along with 29 other energy saving products including

solar lighting, occupancy sensors etc., were made GCT and Import Duty Exempt

in a move to encourage greater public take-up while reducing the national import

fuel bill.

Unfortunately however, the present government as of 31st July 2004, is imposing

16.5% GCT on imported raw materials, including those used to manufacture

Polyurethane Insulation- a cost which we cannot claim back on the sale of an Exempt

product. As such, manufacturers of GCT exempt products, such as SPF insulation,

will have no choice but to pass this cost on to the consumer as an additional

production cost.

Ladies and gentlemen, on top of increased

costs due to constant devaluation of the J$,

and inflation, your energy saving roof

insulation just went up by 16.5%. This

doesn’t make sense.

This is a retrograde move and I hope the

relevant authorities will see the folly afoot

and correct.

Let me further point out that in some First World countries such as our neighbours

to the north- The USA with relatively inexpensive electricity averaging US$0.12 -

0.15c and Canada US$0.10 - 0.12c per kilowatt hour- INSULATION OF

BUILDINGS IS MANDATORY. You CANNOT build an office or house without

insulation.

Here in Jamaica at US$0.40+ cents, (3 to 4 times their cost) and we have no such

codes or requirement. It doesn’t make sense. In fact, some US states actually pay

you to insulate or retrofit your office and house to standards above the minimum

requirements. Rebates are given to encourage use of energy saving technology such

as SPF- by making it cheaper.

Here in Jamaica, our “well thinking” policy makers are in the process of making it

more expensive. It just doesn’t make sense.

No matter how good the product, no matter how much sense it makes to conserve

energy and benefit the bottom line, if consumers can’t afford to adopt the technology

due to policy, we as a nation will continue to suffer the consequences of high energy

use and contribute unnecessarily to climate change.

We are all painfully aware of the fact

that government revenues are down

and they are strapped for cash. They

are now seeking to extract more

revenue- by imposing a tax on a

product that will allow the nation to

save money on fuel imports. At the

same time this measure was

announced, they also announced the

lowering of duties on imported luxury

motor vehicles- the ones with the

largest gas guzzling engines. It

doesn’t make sense.

I urge our government not to be short-sighted. By making energy conservation more

expensive, our policy makers are discouraging us from saving fuel- and at the same

time making cheaper and encouraging the importation of gaz guzzlers that will

increase fuel consumption. How can this be ? It doesn’t make sense !

Ladies and Gentlemen, lets hope that good sense will prevail, and our policy makers

will do what is necessary to make energy conservation more affordable, more

accessible- allowing us all to benefit the Bottom Line is a positive way.