Today we visited both Titan Cement and the Athens Airport, two companies that are both leading the way when it comes to sustainability. At Titan Cement, they are reducing their carbon emissions in a way that I hadn’t thought of. They are using alternative energy sources like burning tires and dried sewage alongside of coal itself, they have also implemented a hydrogen project that makes their kiln flames even more efficient, requiring less overall energy sources to reach the required heat. They are also planning on building a carbon capture plant to eventually become entirely carbon neutral. Later at the airport, we saw their massive solar panel field that produces an insane amount of energy. It can collect enough energy in one day to power 25 households for a whole year, and they generate enough power to be entirely self sustainable and actually have an excess of energy. Both companies drove home to me that sustainability is achievable even at such large scale.

As an engineer, I will have the responsibility to design systems that will need to prioritize minimizing environmental impact. Seeing the difficulties that Titan Cement faced when trying to change their system to become even more efficient drove home to me that I need to think about this from the very beginning. When it becomes an afterthought it becomes 5 times as difficult. Whether it is renewable energy or emission reduction, solutions work best when they are built alongside the project from day one and not added later. Seeing how both Companies today committed to sustainability made me realize that I need to make sure I always have that in mind.