5 Manufacturers Win EPA Green Power Partnership Awards

Manufacturers and other organizations were recognized by the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership for their extensive use of biogas, biomass, geothermal, small-hydro, solar, and wind energy in 2014. Photos provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On December 3, five U.S. manufacturers were formally recognized by the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership for outstanding contributions and leadership in advancing the green power market. Steelcase, Trek, Herman Miller, Intel Corp., and BD were among the 19 companies, municipalities, and organization awarded by the agency for their efforts in expanding the domestic renewable energy market in a ceremony at the Renewable Energy Markets Conference in Sacramento, Calif.

The EPA defines green power as “electricity generated from natural resources that replenish themselves over short periods of time, including the sun, wind, moving water, organic plant and waste material (biomass), and the Earth’s heat (geothermal).

1.     Steelcase

Sustainable Manufacturer Network member Steelcase Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., has been a leader in green power purchasing for more than a decade, the EPA relayed. The world’s largest office furniture and workplace products manufacturer increased its commitment to green power by investing in renewable energy equivalent to 100 percent of its global electricity consumption in 2014. In the U.S., Steelcase purchased more than 121 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) from domestic wind farms—an increase of almost 300 percent in the company’s domestic green power purchasing over the previous year.

Mary Ellen Mika, Sustainable Manufacturer Network Advisory Board member, is the manager of global sustainability initiatives for Steelcase. Her team works to drive sustainability through company’s global supply chain, including developing the company’s renewable energy strategy.

“At Steelcase, we are continuously working to improve our renewable energy portfolio, including regionalizing our renewable energy credit purchases and strategically purchasing renewable energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs). We do this to save money, mitigate electricity price volatility, and produce positive environmental benefits,” said John DeAngelis, a member of Mika’s team.

Steelcase’s green power purchases, as well as its energy conservation efforts, are helping the company meet its long-term corporate sustainability goals, which include a 25 percent reduction in its overall environmental footprint by 2020 compared to its 2010 baseline. Since the manufacturer began tracking its energy consumption in 2001, it has reduced its energy use by 60 percent.

Steelcase’s commitment to renewable energy doesn’t end there. The company also works with stakeholders within its value chain to maintain the company’s positive environmental impact. It recently introduced a pioneering program to extend its volume discount on RECs to its first-tier suppliers, incentivizing many to purchase green power, Mika relayed.

2. Trek Bicycle
Popular bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor Trek Bicycle Corp., Waterloo, Wis., converted to 100 percent renewable electricity in 2009. Last year, Trek purchased more than 7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power sourced from wind and biogas resources.

Trek continues to continue its green power sourcing efforts to include its supply chain. In 2014, the company began working with its 1,500 suppliers and retailers to incorporate green power purchasing into their environmental efforts.

The renewable power purchasing is an important component of Trek’s overall sustainability plan, which includes reducing the carbon footprint of its painting operations in the HVAC system by 90 percent, reducing airborne emissions by 50 percent per bicycle, tracking all employees’ carpool, bike-commute, and walking mileage, and minimizing its environmental footprint across shipping, sourcing, and product design operations, including through its pioneering carbon fiber recycling program and its Eco Design product line.

The company aspires for its bicycles to be used as a vehicle to combat climate change, it stated.

3. Herman Miller
Manufacturer, designer, and distributor of furnishings and interior products, Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, Mich., purchased more than 86 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green-e certified RECs and green power products from biomass and wind resources in 2013. Herman Miller currently procures its wind power through a seven-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with a local Michigan wind farm.

Having achieved 100 percent renewable energy use across its global facilities since 2010, Herman Miller announced its new “Earthright Resource Smart” 10-year sustainability plan in 2013. The plan includes taking steps to secure more long-term, local contracts for the supply of clean energy to its U.S. facilities and the installation of on-site generation where applicable.

Herman Miller also engages its employees, suppliers, customers, and the community in the company’s renewable energy efforts. Recently, Herman Miller increased its green power purchase requirements for product suppliers, and held educational seminars to teach suppliers about cost-effective methods for meeting the requirements. The company’s energy team also works actively with state and local government officials to encourage the development of energy policies that support renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. In an effort to be transparent about its sustainability progress, Herman Miller publishes each of its facilities’ annual renewable energy footprints.

A member of EPA’s Green Power Partnership for more than 10 years, Herman Miller has promoted environmental stewardship as a cornerstone of its operations since 1953.

4. Intel
The world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, Intel, Santa Clara, Calif., purchased Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) in 2014 to match 100 percent of the electricity used at its U.S. locations. This purchase totaled approximately 3.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). These RECs represent diverse technologies, including wind, solar, geothermal, low-impact hydro, and biomass.

In addition, Intel has on-site solar installations at 18 locations, which generate nearly 10million kWh of electricity annually—a portion of which (850,000 kWh) counts toward Intel’s green power usage through the retention of RECs. In 2013, Intel also installed more than 75 solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations across 11 campuses.

Intel encourages its suppliers to reduce their environmental impacts, providing information via conferences, presentations, webinars, and seminars. To demonstrate the importance of supplier engagement, Intel has implemented supplier sustainability criteria and reporting.

5. BD
Global medical technology company BD has already exceeded its target of 25 percent renewable energy use worldwide by 2015 with its current global renewable energy use at 35 percent. Nearly 84 percent of BD’s U.S. operations are powered by renewable energy.

In 2011, BD began talks with the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) with the desire to purchase renewable energy for three manufacturing plants in Nebraska. About 40 percent of BD’s U.S.-based electricity purchases come from that state, which that relies heavily on conventional fuels such as coal. Nebraska is also the only remaining state where all homes and businesses receive electric service from publicly-owned utilities.

Following three years of negotiations and a series of challenges, BD’s power purchase agreement for the renewable energy certificates (RECs) from 30 megawatts (MW) of generation from the output of the 75-MW Steele Flats wind project began delivering benefits in November 2013.

In addition to BD’s new power purchase agreement with NPPD, the company generates and uses electricity from a 1-MW on-site solar array in North Carolina, and purchases RECs from a landfill gas-powered fuel cell installation. BD also purchases Green-e certified RECs through NextEra Energy Resources’ EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust. Overseen by an independent trustee and panel of outside advisors, the Trust uses 100 percent of the funds it receives to build new renewable energy facilities.

The manufacturer said that purchasing green power—funded in part through savings obtained from energy conservation projects—is an important component of the company’s sustainability strategy and that it is dedicated to improving people’s health throughout the world.

More than 1,300 U.S. entities are on EPA’s Green Power Partnership list, including manufacturers:

3M, American Licorice, BMW, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Coilcraft, ConAgra Foods, Cooper Products, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, Fireye, General Dynamics, Gilchrist Metal Fabrication, Harbec, Haworth, Hypertherm, IBM, Johnson Controls, JWC, Lasco, Lawddawn, Lockheed Martin, Max-R, Merck, Motorola, New Leaf Paper, Neenah Paper, Pepsico, Peterboro Tool, Philips, Primex Plastics, PTP Machining, Quad Graphics, Raytheon, RenewAire, RH Laboratories, SAS Industries, SC Johnson, Siemens, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Solberg, Sony, Stone Machine, TOTO USA, Unilever, UTC Aerospace, Volkswagen.

The manufacturers’ green power achievements are moving the agency closer to its goal to double the amount of renewable energy consumed by its partners by 2020.

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