Mar 6 2013
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded CalPortland Company the 2013 ENERGY STAR SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting our environment through energy efficiency.
CalPortland's accomplishments in receiving this prestigious national award will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 26, 2013.
CalPortland, an ENERGY STAR partner since 1996, is being honored for its long-term commitment to energy efficiency. The company continues to be a strong leader in managing energy and in promoting the benefits of energy efficiency and ENERGY STAR to industrial companies throughout the world. This is the ninth consecutive year CalPortland has been awarded the ENERGY STAR award at the national level with the last seven awards for maintaining SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE. This is a feat unmatched by any other U.S. construction materials company. Recent accomplishments leading to the award include:
- Extending energy management to product transport by tracking truck fuel usage, managing delivery routes, and minimizing idling time, among other optimizations of trucking efficiency.
- Benchmarking cement plant energy with parent company operations in Japan to develop "best in class" process area benchmarks for cement manufacturing and adjusting processes in the areas of mill ball charge, mill feed distribution, cooling fans, primary air to burner and fuel re-balancing.
- Executing capital improvements and process optimizations designed to save energy including replacement of a heat exchanger on a pre-heater tower with a water spray gas conditioning system to reduce demand by 1,061 kW and energy use by nearly 9 million kWh.
- Coordinating with utilities, other manufacturers and EPA to host a well-attended meeting in the Los Angeles region to introduce local manufacturers to ENERGY STAR's industrial energy management resources.
- Promoting energy management among U.S. cement manufacturers by supporting EPA's ENERGY STAR Focus on Energy Efficiency in Cement and Concrete Manufacturing.
- Promoting energy management through employee participation in community and school outreach programs including parades, holiday events, rodeos, school visits, career days, plant tours and other community events with exposure to nearly 108,000 people.
- Actively participating in the ENERGY STAR Challenge program with four plants meeting the challenge and five others signed up for the challenge.
"CalPortland is committed to helping to protect the environment through our energy management program and sustainability practices," said Allen Hamblen, President and CEO. "CalPortland's long standing partnership with ENERGY STAR emphasizes our organization's commitment to energy efficiency. We understand the value that energy management provides to our company as well as to our environment. "
"EPA is recognizing CalPortland for earning EPA's highest ENERGY STAR award - the 2013 Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Award," said Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "CalPortland leads the field with their commitment to energy efficiency and demonstrates how all Americans can save energy, save money, and create a healthier environment."
Over the last 20 years, with help from ENERGY STAR, 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.
The ENERGY STAR 2013 Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, and employing innovative energy efficiency approaches. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program, including energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors. Award winners are selected from the nearly 20,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.