All Honda mass production auto plants, including the Marysville Auto Plant, have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR certification for outstanding energy efficiency for 2020. The company also is moving toward the use of renewable wind and solar power for the vast majority of the electricity it consumes in its manufacturing operations. (Photo submitted)
For a 15th consecutive year, Honda’s Marysville Auto Plant has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR Certificate for Outstanding Energy Efficiency.
“The sustainable efforts we have implemented to promote energy-efficient practices is a business imperative at Honda,” said Joanna Bambeck, who leads Honda’s Green Factory efforts in North America.
Honda officials said the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Certificate for Outstanding Energy Efficiency, was awarded to the plant for “demonstrating the company’s longstanding commitment to reducing CO2 emissions through environmentally-friendly practices.”
The ENERGY STAR certifications were awarded to plants in the top 25th percentile of all plants in energy efficiency. ENERGY STAR awards these certifications based on energy used per unit produced and the Marysville Auto Plant is not alone among Honda factories.
Honda’s four mass production auto plants, two transmission plants and two engine plants in the U.S., along with an auto and an engine plant in Canada, all earned the certificate.
According to a release with the announcement, Honda is the only automaker to earn the EPA distinction for energy efficiency at every mass production auto plant it operates in the U.S.
“Honda has been a leader in ENERGY STAR certification since the EPA began awarding the distinction to industrial plants in 2006,” according to the release.
In addition to the Marysville Auto Plant, the East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio earned the award for the 15th consecutive year, meaning both have been honored since the program’s inception.
The Anna Engine Plant garnered its third award and the Honda Transmission Manufacturing plant, in Russells Point, received its second ENERGY STAR award.
Honda Manufacturing of Indiana achieved the designation for the ninth year in a row. Honda Manufacturing of Alabama earned its fourth award, and its engine plant was recognized for the second time.
Honda Precision Parts of Georgia transmission plant earned first-time recognition.
Honda of Canada Manufacturing’s auto and engine plants also earned first-time recognition in 2020. Officials said U.S. EPA and the Canadian Department of Natural Resources worked together to offer an ENERGY STAR certification for Canadian auto plants.
“Ten Honda facilities earning the ENERGY STAR Certificate demonstrates our commitment to create environmentally-friendly practices,” Bambeck wrote in a statement. “Each manufacturing plant completed different environmentally friendly projects to improve their overall energy efficiency in 2020, and we are honored to earn these awards from U.S. EPA.”
In the release, officials said that through the company’s “Green Factory” initiatives, Honda is, “working comprehensively to address the environmental impacts of product manufacturing by reducing water use, energy use, waste and emissions.
Officials said Honda has reduced the CO2 emissions intensity of automobile production in North America by 27.5% since 2010 and has cut waste to landfills from manufacturing by 93% since 2001.
The company also is moving toward the use of renewable wind and solar power for the vast majority of the electricity it consumes in its manufacturing operations.
“Commercial buildings and industrial plants account for nearly half of America’s energy,” Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch, wrote in a statement announcing the awards. “But through benchmarking performance and a strategic approach to energy management, it is possible for companies to save energy, save money, reduce greenhouse gases and protect the environment.”