E3 Success Story - Accelerating Adoption of E3 Recommendations

E3 Michigan

The state of Michigan, along with numerous local and state partners, formed E3 Michigan in 2010. The partners include: DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) – Southeast Michigan, the University of Michigan Industrial Assessment Center (UM-IAC), the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Michigan Small Business Administration, and the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance. This partnership, partially funded by the utility companies, UM-IAC, and the participating company itself, will allow for up to 10 E3 assessments in southeast Michigan and 10 E3 assessments in western Michigan.

Along with the traditional E3 assessments, MDEQ has developed an E3 Student Internship Program, which is designed to advance the concepts of E3 in southeastern Michigan using engineering students from universities and colleges with accredited undergraduate engineering programs. Operating under the umbrella of the Retired Engineer Technical Assistance Program, the E3 Internship Program, in consultation with the MDEQ, will implement selected recommendations resulting from the E3 assessments.

The objective of the E3 Student Internship Program is to accelerate the adoption of E3 principles and the implementation of lean, clean, energy- efficient and environmentally sound activities, as identified in the assessment process performed by the E3 partners. The E3 interns then assist the company directly with implementing and following up on the activities.

Funding

EPA provided $51,402 to support the E3 Student Internship Program, which is focused on placing five to 10 interns in the Southeast Michigan E3 project. MDEQ received a $138,257 grant from EPA at the end of FY2010 for a three-year project designed to support the continued follow-up, measurement, and implementation of E3 recommendations at participating companies. During this time, intensive trainings will be provided to E3 companies and suppliers at the MMTC locations in southeastern and western Michigan. Trainings will focus on the development and on-site implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices and a plan to reduce carbon impact. The primary objective of the project is to provide tools and resources to manufacturers to effectively track and manage energy efficiency, waste reduction, and associated GHG and pollution reductions and cost savings that occur with process modifications, equipment change-out, substitution, and pollution prevention. The measurement tools that will be utilized are WasteWise Re-TRAC, the P2 GHG Calculator, and the P2 Cost Savings Calculator.

Unique E3 Attribute

E3 Michigan's main objective is to accelerate the adoption of E3 recommendations by the participating facilities and measure the project implementation results. Three interns have been placed at E3 facilities to implement recommendations for processes including oil and tooling coolant recovery and reclamation; metal finishing and coating; and plastic bending.