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January 2016 • The PCB Design Magazine 51 Tim Haag is customer support and training manager for Intercept Technology. HSBC aims to source a quarter of the energy used to power its buildings around the world from renewable sources by 2020. It is a challenging goal but the bank has already signed four agreements with renewable energy providers in the uK and India, which together will generate the equivalent of 9 per cent of HSBC's global energy needs. In the uK, HSBC has signed two agreements with renewable energy providers. The first is a 12- year agreement with a wind farm in the east of england. HSBC has also signed a similar agreement with a second wind farm in the uK that will provide re- newable energy from Jan- uary 2016. Taken together these uK projects are ex- pected to account for 40 per cent of HSBC's uK electricity requirements, helping the bank reduce its environmental foot- print. In India, a new solar plant in Hyderabad was built after HSBC agreed in 2014 to buy the plant's energy at a fixed price for 10 years. This project will generate enough equivalent clean energy to power four HSBC offices in the region and save up to 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. By signing these long-term agreements, rath - er than buying renewable energy from existing sources, HSBC is supporting developers to build new and additional wind and solar farms. As well as using more renewable sources, HSBC is aiming to use less energy in the first place by improving the energy efficiency of its buildings. This is part of the bank's broader goal to man - age the impact of its opera- tions on the environment. Switching on to Renewables tim's takeaways A NEW YEAR AND A FEW MILESToNES for. And yet those who hired me saw something there and believed enough in me to help me to rise to the next level. This milestone of faith and commitment shown to me has been a tre- mendous inspiration as I have managed my own groups and mentored my employees. There are milestones of character and integ- rity in my life that were set in place by those who refused to give in to the quick thrill of the moment, but instead continued on the right path, even though it may not have been the easiest path to take. I have milestones of charity and compassion in my life left there by people who took time out of their day to help others, often at the expense of their own needs. And the milestones of resilience and hard work have been set in place by those who refuse to back down in the face of adversity, but instead see the job through to the end. True, not all mile- stones are pleasant and some have real pain as- sociated with them. But those are part of our journey too. I am very fortunate to have these great mile- stones as I look back on my life. And now, as I write this, I once again glance over my shoulder at that silly little piece of wood with the simple components on it hanging from my wall, and I am grateful for the milestone that it represents in my life. Is it possible that it is responsible for my career as a circuit board designer? Did creat- ing that first layout instill within me the de- sire to one day create larger and more complex designs? I wonder. It is an interesting thing to contemplate. And thanks, Dad. The world has certainly changed from when you were born in 1919. Thanks for helping to prepare me for it. How about you? When you glance back over your shoulder, what milestones do you see? PCBDESIgN