Better Project and Better Practice Award Winners
One of the hallmarks of the Better Plants program is the recognition of partner achievements in innovation and energy management. While partner success is celebrated in a number of ways, the annual Better Practice and the Better Project Awards offer a unique opportunity for partners to share and recognize accomplishments in their facilities.
The Better Practice award is presented to partners for innovative and industry-leading accomplishments in implementing and promoting practices, principles, and procedures of energy management. Whereas, the Better Project award recognizes partners for outstanding accomplishments in implementing industrial energy, water, and waste projects at individual facilities.
Winners of both the Better Practice and Better Project awards are recognized in-person at the annual Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit and are also given special speaking and promotional opportunities through the program. Regardless of award status, all award applications are promoted as case studies and recognized online through the Better Buildings website. To learn more about these awards, click here.
Congratulations to the 2022 Better Project and Better Practice winners, featured below!
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems
For installing a solar photovoltaic system of 2,612 ground-mounted panels, producing 1.5 million kWh annually and saving 30% of site electricity use, and reducing the site’s total carbon footprint by 19%.
Charter Steel
For installing a sustainable scrap preheat system that reduced dust in the facility by 73%, annual electricity consumption by 2.25 million kWh, and annual greenhouse gas emissions by 14,000 tons.
Eastman Chemical Company
For developing and implementing an optimization model that provides a facility’s operators with real-time recommendations for powerhouse equipment, leading to energy savings of approximately 960,000 MMBtu a year.
Lineage Logistics
For adopting an advanced refrigeration controls platform at a facility to maximize operational efficiency and reduce workload for onsite operators by enabling remote access, reducing annual energy usage by up to 20%.
PepsiCo
For improving the efficiency of a facility’s water filtration system and recovering, softening, and redistributing a reverse osmosis concentrate, reducing annual incoming water usage by approximately 30 million gallons, or 15%.
Saint-Gobain Corporation
For piloting and installing a new recycling technology that grinds and then captures waste gypsum and paper for reuse, reducing annual landfill waste by 15,000 tons and annual costs by over $384,000.
SugarCreek Packing Co.
For utilizing reverse osmosis technology to improve a facility steam system, cutting annual natural gas, water, and chemical use by 3.7%, 11.1%, and 43.3%, respectively.
Valmont Industries
For replacing all of a site’s 102 gasoline vehicles with an all-electric fleet of 84 vehicles, resulting in $88,000 in annual gasoline savings and annual avoided CO2 emissions of approximately 94 tons.
Waupaca Foundry
For upgrading and then optimizing a facility’s compressed air system, increasing energy efficiency by 13.5% and reducing annual energy usage by 18,000 MMBtu and water usage by 13 million gallons of water.
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RING Container Technologies
Honorable Mention
For implementing a series of efficiency projects across the company, including a chiller upgrade project, compressed air leak audits at every plant, and monthly audits at all plants to ensure recycling of material resin and production floor waste.
3M
For developing a corporate Energy Manual—Manual 81—to outline minimum design requirements for new spaces, processes, and utility systems intended for use by 3M and its approved suppliers, and implemented projects have delivered savings of 6,676,000 in MMBtu and 272,000 tons in CO2.
Electrolux
For creating the Green Bond Framework to finance sustainability projects and improve product energy efficiency, and for the Long-term Incentive Program, which links employee compensation with sustainability and climate-related action.
Flowers Foods
For expanding an operational upgrade project at a bakery into a series of thirteen energy efficiency projects, resulting in total energy savings of 13,506 MMBtu, $411,695 in utility incentives, and verified energy cost savings of $231,103 per year
Ingersoll Rand
For addressing fugitive emissions from the facility’s use of refrigerants by replacing CFX heat exchangers with more efficient LCX units, resulting in 1,340 annual metric tons of CO2 reduction in the first year of implementation.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
For successfully incorporating demand response into its water operations and reducing pumping load during peak periods, resulting in an average demand reduction of 7.1 MW per event and 45 tons of CO2 emissions avoided.
Occidental Chemical Corporation
For incorporating training materials and tools from a DOE Steam System In-Plant Training throughout the company’s capital project approval process, leading to process changes that resulted in natural gas savings of 132,000 MMBTU and over 7,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Schneider Electric
For adopting a new method to standardize compressed air leak detection using acoustical imaging technology, resulting in the identification of over 250 leaks, representing over $600,000 in cost savings and 317 metric tons of CO2 reduction.
Stellantis
For implementing the Excellent Plant Shutdown approach across five sites and using automated system controls to assist with shutdown/startup performance, improving plant shutdown performance by over 17 MW and 28%.
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Plastics Engineering Company
Honorable Mention
For implementing multiple compressed air projects to address leaks and system-wide efficiency, resulting in 522,300 kWh and $44,850 in annual savings at one plant.
The Sherwin-Williams Company
Honorable Mention
For adapting the company’s lean continuous improvement tools to develop Waste Value Stream Maps for energy and sustainability projects, empowering local teams to use existing continuous improvement tools to identify projects.
3M
For implementing a real-time, batteryless steam trap cloud monitoring system that saves 10.6 million pounds of steam per year.
For redesigning and rebuilding an existing bread plant to produce organic bread and includes a variety of sustainability features that reduced annual energy and water consumption by 22% and 64%, respectively.
For upgrading a facility air and water management system that led to an 11% reduction in annual electricity usage.
For optimizing a facility's cogeneration system and central utility plant, saving $1.5 million in annual energy costs with a 2.2-year payback.
For upgrading air handling unit-controls to enable automatic maintenance of temperature and air quality, saving over $200,000 and 1,800 metric tons of CO2 per year.
For implementing an advanced HVAC control system at two facilities that optimizes the use of outside air and adjusts equipment sequences and setpoints, saving a combined $350,000 per year.
For utilizing a sonic imaging tool to improve leak detection surveys in a plant’s compressed air system, leading to energy cost and non-energy benefits totaling $60,000 per year.
For leveraging Virtual In-Plant Trainings (VINPLTs) on industrial refrigeration systems to help identify annual energy savings opportunities of more than $4 million.
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems
For developing a zero waste to landfill certification process that led to a 98.5% reduction in the total waste sent to landfill in one year.
For creating a sustainability checklist that is being rolled out for all new capital projects greater than $50,000 across the company.
For establishing an "Energy and Carbon Optimization (ECO) Toolbox" that has helped identify cumulative annual energy savings opportunities of more than $2 million at six sites so far.
For developing an innovative data science team that has earned 13 patents and saved millions of dollars in annual energy costs through advancements in energy operations and technology adoption.
For creating a "Green Awards" program to highlight and recognize individual researchers for their sustainability-related R&D projects.
For launching a "Hack the Pack" workshop with a cross-functional team to reimagine product packaging, saving more than 13,000 pounds of wood reinforcements a year and completely eliminating the use of foam packaging for two products.
Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
For launching a campaign to eliminate the use of hot water from the tire curing process and replace it with a Nitrogen process, resulting in an annual reduction of over 15,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions and nearly 13 million gallons of water saved, with a 3.6-year payback.
For pioneering the use of Sphagnum Moss for industrial water treatment, which improved water and energy efficiency, led to lower maintenance and waste disposal costs, improved water quality, and lowered odor and skin irritation exposure risks to plant personnel.
Better Project Presentation
For implementing a series of upgrades and technological improvements to achieve a 50% reduction in energy and water use at its Dearborn Research and Engineering Campus Central Energy Plant.
Better Project Presentation
For optimizing the blast freezing process, reducing freeze times by up to 50% and improving blast energy efficiency by up to 20% in a facility freezing beef products.
Better Project Presentation
For using data loggers to identify significant energy users and optimize equipment efficiency, helping to fine tune production processes and reduce compressor energy use by 65%.
Better Project Presentation
For implementing a cogeneration project at its Indianapolis Gatorade facility that led to annual electricity savings of $1 million and a 35% reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Better Project Presentation
For identifying and implementing improvements to a decades-old structural oven, with a 35% reduction in oven gas consumption and 34% reduction in firing rate and oven hours.
Better Project Presentation
For installing a blast-air dehumidification system to compensate for high humidity conditions, reducing annual coke usage by 2.5% and representing savings of 16,728 MMBTU and $335,000 per year.
Better Project Presentation
For launching a "Zero-Kilowatt Challenge" that reduced energy usage during the time its Lancaster, Pennsylvania, facility is shut down by over 50%.
Better Practice Presentation
For developing "Energy Sparks" fact sheets covering a wide variety of manufacturing-based energy topics to educate and engage employees.
Better Practice Presentation
For creating a Roadmap to track plant energy and water projects from the idea stage to the implementation stage.
Better Practice Presentation
Imerys Carbonates North America
For developing and disseminating dust collector-best practices that have led to reduced compressed air consumption across multiple facilities.
Better Practice Presentation
For developing a Landfill Free certification option for facilities that helped the company landfill only 6% of the waste from North America facilities in FY 2019.
Better Practice Presentation
Agropur
For upgrading two-plate and frame water/ammonia heat exchangers (PHEs) and saving more than $157,000 in annual energy costs
Project Presentation
ArcelorMittal
For installing variable fan drives on 12 cooling tower fans, with estimated annual energy savings of more than $229,000
Project Presentation
Eastman Chemical Company
For devising a process to develop specialized versions of a chemical and reducing production energy costs by 42%, or $725,000 annually
Project Presentation
General Motors
For using a packaged supplier to make utility upgrades at 3 different sites, shortening the project schedule by 10 months and reducing costs by 20% compared to a traditional stick-built approach
Project Presentation
NEW Water
For its Resource Recovery and Electrical Energy (R2E2) solids recovery facility project that produces its own electricity on-site, reducing annual energy costs by an estimated 50%, or $2 million
Nissan North America
For implementing a chilled water optimization project that has saved 3,000 MWh in annual facility electric energy consumption
Showcase Project I Project Presentation
PepsiCo
For installing a condensing economizer to recover energy from a boiler stack, reducing site fuel usage by 10%
Project Presentation
Bentley Mills
For using an Energy as a Service (EaaS) model to finance lighting and water retrofits with an ahead-of-schedule expected payoff
Implementation Model I Practice Presentation
Celanese Corporation
For implementing the Celanese Energy Community program and engaging and educating 98% of the company workforce on energy reduction
Des Moines Water Works
For installing energy monitors to provide staff with real-time energy data and saving $185,000 a year in energy costs
Practice Presentation
Lineage Logistics
For implementing a flywheeling algorithm to optimize refrigeration compressor operation, reducing a facility's energy costs by up to 39%
Practice Presentation
Saint-Gobain Corporation
For launching "Compress It," a voluntary competition between facilities to identify and repair compressed air leaks that led to $2.5 million in annual energy savings
Practice Presentation
Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America
For implementing an Energy Savings Company (ESCO) process in North America that has uncovered annual energy savings opportunities totaling 3% portfolio-wide
Practice Presentation
For implementing a building automation system upgrade at its Romulus, Michigan, facility encompassing plant floor lighting, energy metering, and floor HVAC, with an estimated payback of 1.5 years
For implementing a blending tank system requiring less pumping energy, less fresh water, and less cooling tower load at its Pocatello, Idaho, facility, resulting in $161,000 in annual energy savings
Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
For implementing a digester biogas generation & CHP project at its Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant to produce electricity and heat, reducing the plant’s energy intensity by 37% in two years
For installing a 2.5 MW natural gas fired-combined heat and power system at its Gaithersburg, Maryland, facility, helping the site achieve 13.9% energy savings over the previous year
For implementing the company’s first energy storage system at its Fullerton, California, facility, with an expected return on investment of over 500% through avoided utility peak demand costs
For piloting an advanced energy monitoring system with wireless submeters at its Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, facility that has increased operational efficiency and inspired energy reduction projects yielding approximately $30,000 per year in energy cost savings
For creating a virtual “USA Energy Management Toolbox” composed of technical best practices; a database of replicable, quick-win projects; and more
For developing a sophisticated Energy Assessment Matrix to measure and track the strength and continuous improvement of energy management systems
For forming a Green Team at its Waco, Texas, facility that helped double energy productivity, cut electricity costs by 70%, and standardize a method for tracking multiple key sustainability indicators
For launching the Composites Solutions Business Energy Team Challenge with cash prizes to inspire competition between plant energy teams to reduce energy intensity
For initiating a baseload energy reduction program at its Merced, California, facility that reduced downtime baseload to less than 10%, avoiding an estimated $465,000 in energy costs
For deploying energy treasure hunts across the company, giving sites tools, guidance, and support for a largely “do-it-yourself” approach, with the 30 treasure hunts conducted since the program’s inception identifying $2.7 million in savings opportunities
For installing a HVAC upgrade that led to a 40% reduction in system energy consumption, better product quality, and reduced maintenance needs
For installing a combustion turbine burner that has improved steam production reliability and saved 156,000 MMBTU in annual energy consumption
For implementing lighting and HVAC upgrades across several facilities, with site energy consumption decreases of as much as 2%
For installing three 1.5 MW wind turbines that offset $600,000 in annual electricity costs and yield hundreds of thousands more in renewable energy credit sales
Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
For installing a 1.6 MW CHP system fueled by on-site produced biogas that has achieved $473,000 in annual energy cost savings
For utilizing an energy treasure hunt to simultaneously train employees, identify cost savings, and improve ISO 50001 implementation
For developing a multi-disciplinary Sustainability Team that helped achieve a 30% decrease in facility energy consumption
For establishing a company-wide Energy Hunt program as part of the Johnson Controls Manufacturing System that resulted in a threefold increase in identified energy savings projects and helped the company meet its Better Plants Challenge goal two years early
For implementing an enterprise-wide Energy Management System certified to ISO 50001 that includes all U.S. manufacturing facilities
For creating WWE (Waste, Water, Energy) Awards to inspire competition among 120+ manufacturing sites to reduce their environmental impact
United Technologies Corporation
For creating a multifaceted energy efficiency improvement program that has saved millions in cumulative energy costs