For the eighth consecutive year, two of Honda's Ohio automobile manufacturing plants have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ENERGY STAR certification, while the company's auto plant in Greensburg, Ind. earned the designation for the second year in a row.
The ENERGY STAR certification is given to facilities that perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and that also meet strict energy efficiency-performance levels set by the EPA. On average, ENERGY STAR certified plants consume 35 percent less energy and produce 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than similar non-certified operations.
"We continually strive to reduce the environmental impact of our operations by improving our energy efficiency," said Karen Heyob, Director of Facility Management at Honda North America. "We strive to build a culture that encourages all associates to consider ways to make their job process more energy efficient, particularly focusing on shutting off equipment when it isn't needed."
In earning their eighth consecutive ENERGY STAR certifications, Honda of America Mfg.'s auto assembly plants in Marysville and East Liberty, Ohio continued efforts to improve energy efficiency in 2013. The Marysville plant completed a multi-year project to eliminate a central steam plant, transitioning to more efficient localized alternatives. The East Liberty plant began operation of a new on-site parts consolidation center that reduced fuel usage by 483,000 gallons while cutting CO2 emissions by 4.9 metric tons annually.
"The EPA congratulates Honda for earning ENERGY STAR certification for its manufacturing facilities," said Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. "Its efforts to reduce carbon pollution and save money through increased energy efficiency demonstrate that it is a leader in protecting our environment and strengthening our economy."
Honda Manufacturing of Indiana LLC, which just marked its five-year anniversary and is Honda's newest plant in the United States, earned the recognition for the first time last year. The Indiana plant continued to improve energy efficiency while ramping up to a two-shift operation, and improved energy efficiency by 15 percent from last year. All plants benefitted this year from a newly-implemented real-time energy monitoring program that allows associates to identify equipment that can be turned off during breaks or between production shifts.
ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 65 different kinds of products, 1.4 million new homes, and 20,000 commercial buildings and industrial plants that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. Over the past twenty years, American families and businesses have saved more than $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions with help from ENERGY STAR.
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