A lean supply chain and energy-efficient operations are critical to the sustainability of our business, helping us increase efficiency to operate faster, better and more cost-effectively while reducing waste and lowering emissions.
Strategic energy management and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions are key facets of United Industries Corporation’s sustainability commitment. This strategic approach reduces our impact on the environment, saves money and helps us mitigate some of the risks associated with climate change.
Our cross-functional sustainability team guides our approach, taking a holistic view that considers the financial, operational, and reputational impacts of climate change. This group meets quarterly to discuss the risks we face, evaluate environmental projects and identify new ways to take action. Our major customers also play a role in helping drive our strategy, as they often incorporate supplier sustainability standards into their purchasing practices.
We also provide input on climate change policies that affect our industry. Our Divisional Vice President Compliance holds positions on the boards of the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) and its Pesticide Division Board. In these roles, we can help influence the climate change position and actions of the trade association.
We have elected to take an integrated approach to reducing our carbon footprint, committing to continuous improvement in curbing our emissions. For the last four years, we have conducted an inventory of the GHG emissions associated with our company operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2). We voluntarily report our energy use and GHG emissions to CDP, an international nonprofit that provides a system to measure and manage environmental information to help companies, investors and cities mitigate risk, capitalize on opportunities and make investment decisions. Continued monitoring will allow us to identify new emission reduction opportunities that make sense for our business.
Over the past few years, we have implemented a number of energy efficiency projects that both save money and reduce emissions, in addition to integrating employees into our strategy. Some examples include:
Building efficiency: In 2014, we upgraded an air conditioning unit in our St. Louis facility that we estimate can save 20,000 kWh per year. We also began upgrading building insulation and installing more energy efficient hot water boilers, which we expect will yield additional energy savings in the coming year.
Air conditioning upgrade: In 2013, we replaced the air conditioning units in our main manufacturing facility in the St. Louis, Mo. area, reducing GHG emissions by 20 metric tons and energy use by 25,000 kWh, annually.
Lighting: In 2012, we invested in energy-efficient lighting for our main manufacturing facility in the St. Louis, Mo. area. This project reduced annual GHG emissions by nearly 500 metric tons and yielded cost savings.
Distribution center consolidation: Consolidating multiple facilities into one distribution center improved logistics and reduced transportation mileage. This cut diesel fuel use by about 300,000 gallons, associated energy use by about 50 percent and GHG emissions by nearly 3,000 metric tons.
Logistics software: We recently introduced logistics software that helped our freight carriers reduce truckload quantity by more than 700 per year, saving about 17,000 gallons of fuel and reducing our trailer equipment leasing costs by 70 percent.
Employee incentives: Plant employees and facility managers – those who know our day-to-day operations best – receive incentives for increasing production efficiencies and championing ways to reduce energy use.
Smarter logistics processes also allow us to more efficiently move our products from manufacturing sites to our distribution center to our retail partners. We also help our vendors innovate their transportation and logistics processes to minimize waste. These efforts have led to a considerable reduction in the transportation associated with bringing our products to market, which in turn has reduced fuel use, emissions and transportation costs.
Monitoring our Impact
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Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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Energy
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2012
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2013
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Energy Use (fuel, electricity, heat, steam and cooling in MWh)
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14,817.14
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17,173.69 |
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GHG Emissions
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Scope 1 (metric tons CO2e)
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1,419.2
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1,837.6 |
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Scope 2 (metric tons CO2e)
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6,839.6
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6,607.3 |
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GHG Intensity (metric tons CO2e/million $ revenues)
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21.34
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21.6 |
To calculate our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, we rely on The Climate Registry’s General Reporting Protocol. Values for the reported year are measured for the year preceding October.