American Chemistry Council Honors Energy Efficiency Award Winners
ARLINGTON, Va. (November 12, 2004) – As part of its ongoing efforts to improve the environment and the economy, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) today honored eight companies for energy efficiency improvements made in 2003. ACC announced a total of 19 awards to these companies for their company-wide or plant-specific progress.
Charles Van Vlack, Executive Vice President of ACC, announced the awards during a Climate VISION Workshop, conducted live via the Internet. Climate VISION is the Bush Administration's voluntary, public-private partnership to pursue cost-effective initiatives to reduce the projected growth in America's greenhouse gas emissions. The program is administered through the Department of Energy's policy and international program and the chemical industry, through ACC, is one of the participating industrial sectors.
Van Vlack said "It's particularly fitting to present the awards at this time of year, the beginning of the heating season. Natural gas prices are at all-time highs. Experts agree that the most effective short-term response to high prices is to conserve energy and use natural gas more efficiently. Today's winners offer proof positive that it pays to invest in efficiency and conservation measures."
Van Vlack also reminded the workshop attendees that the business of chemistry is energy intensive and relies on energy inputs not only to power its operations, but also as a raw material to manufacture many of its products. Energy costs can be as high as 85 percent of total production costs for some products. ACC members' efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions are critically important in the context of U.S. efforts to develop a comprehensive energy policy and to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions. "These awards publicly recognize that energy efficiency projects not only reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions but also add appreciably to each company's bottom line," Van Vlack observed. It's a win-win situation for the country, he said, because "the improvements protect the environment while helping American business compete globally." The total annual energy savings represented by the 19 awards amounts to 4.9 trillion BTUs, equal to the energy needs of about 26,000 households. That's the equivalent of annual energy usage for a town like Springfield, Ohio or Muncie, Indiana. Annual carbon dioxide reductions amount to 300,308 tons.
Van Vlack noted that natural gas, the lifeblood of the U.S. chemical industry, remains in short supply and prices are at historic highs. He said the price of gas futures had nearly doubled in the past month and were around twice what they were in Europe and China where competing companies were in position to undercut United States firms. "While Congress needs to act to increase domestic natural gas supply, these awards illustrate steps ACC members are taking to do their part in increasing natural gas conservation and efficiency."
The awards to the eight members are part of ACC's Energy Efficiency Continuous Improvement Program, an effort that encourages members to improve energy efficiency and minimize energy-related environmental impacts, thus strengthening international competitiveness. This year's winners were selected from five categories:
Awards can be given at any of four levels within the company: Corporate/Business Unit, Plant Site, Operating Unit or Project.
Companies receiving awards for 2003 are:
This year, award-winning activities of five companies received the ACC's "Exceptional Merit" designation for each activity's particular excellence. The companies are BASF Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Merck & Co., Inc, and Sasol North America, Inc.
The award nominations were judged and the winners determined by a sub-group of the ACC Energy Team, joined by Dr. W.D. Turner, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University.
A breakdown of the 19 award-winning activities follows. An asterisk (*) denotes an Exceptional Merit award designation.
Significant Improvement in Manufacturing - Plant Site
Significant Improvement in Manufacturing – Operating Unit
Significant Improvement in Manufacturing – Project
Energy Efficiency Program – Corporate/Business Unit
Energy Efficiency Program – Plant Site
Public Outreach – Plant Site
Environmental Impact – Plant Site
Non-Manufacturing Improvement – Plant Site
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Tabulation of Energy Savings and CO2 Emission Reductions (PDF 52 KB)
Page Last Modified: August 7, 2008
