EPA Announces Four 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska
Environmental News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The awardees include a diverse group of manufacturers, including Bimbo Bakeries USA, commercial bread and roll baking in Dubuque, Iowa; Guardian Industries, a flat glass manufacturer in DeWitt, Iowa; Buzzi Unicem USA, a cement manufacturing plant in Festus, Missouri; and Koch Fertilizer, a nitrogenous fertilizer plant in Beatrice, Nebraska. This is the first time Guardian Industries has received ENERGY STAR certification, with the other three plants achieving certification in 2020.
Nationwide, 95 U.S. manufacturing plants earned ENERGY STAR certification in 2020 for being among the most energy-efficient in their industries. By strategically managing their energy use while our country dealt with challenges of the pandemic, these ENERGY STAR-certified plants saved nearly $400 million on energy bills – equal to the payroll value of over 8,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. They also avoided the consumption of 80 trillion BTUs of energy, compared to average plants, and prevented over 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to those from the energy use of nearly 600,000 homes.
Since the first industrial facilities received certification 15 years ago, ENERGY STAR-certified plants have significantly helped our economy and our environment, resulting in over $6 billion in savings on energy bills and cleaner air by preventing over 65 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions compared to average-performing facilities.
“These forward-looking businesses have demonstrated that economic development and job creation go hand-in-hand with environmental progress,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The transition to a clean energy economy is happening now, as partnerships like ENERGY STAR encourage companies to go the extra mile, bringing innovation, cost-savings, and pollution reductions in return.”
Energy efficiency is an important decarbonization strategy for the industrial sector, which emits nearly a third of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. To make the crucial reductions in industrial greenhouse gas emissions necessary – and enable a transition to a clean energy economy – manufacturing plants must significantly increase the energy efficiency of their operations.
“We congratulate these manufacturers for taking the initiative to effectively manage their energy use and encourage other businesses in our region to working toward ENERGY STAR certification,” said Acting EPA Region 7 Administrator Ed Chu.
ENERGY STAR provides manufacturers with resources for improving the energy performance of manufacturing plants. Plants use ENERGY STAR energy performance indicators (EPIs) – or in the case of petroleum refineries, the Solomon Associates Energy Intensity Index (Solomon-EII™) scoring system – to assess how their energy use compares to plants with similar operating characteristics. Plants with a verified energy performance score of 75 out of 100 or higher are eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, meaning that they perform better than 75% of plants within their industry. ENERGY STAR certification is available for 20 manufacturing sectors from cement, steel, and glass to commercial bakeries.
Read a list of all certified plants. Learn more about how ENERGY STAR and industry work together.
About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations – including about 40% of the Fortune 500® – rely on their partnership with EPA to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.
Learn more about ENERGY STAR and the numbers behind the program.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
View all Region 7 news releases
Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion7
Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7