Challenge
The industrial sector accounts for a significant portion of the world’s environmental impacts, including approximately half of global energy use.i Manufacturers can help manage their energy consumption, associated costs, and environmental impacts by improving the efficiency of their facilities and production processes.
Lake Region Medical is one of the largest providers of fully integrated outsourced manufacturing and engineering services to the medical device industry. Lake Region Medical is focusing on improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its manufacturing facilities, which represent the company’s largest source of energy use. KKR partially exited its investment in Lake Region Medical when it was acquired by Greatbatch Inc., effective October 27, 2015.
Response
In 2014, Lake Region Medical continued measuring and managing energy consumption in five of its manufacturing facilities against a 2009 baseline as it:
- Assessed production floor lighting options to establish organizational re-lamping guidelines.
- Reviewed existing energy assessments to determine opportunities for higher yield energy conservation initiatives.
Resultsii
In absolute terms, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from facilities increased by approximately 8 percent between 2009 and 2014, while efficiency improved by approximately 11 percent (GHGs/$ revenue) during the same time period. The efficiency improvement since the baseline year has helped Lake Region Medical to avoid approximately $1 million in electricity costs and 5,600 metric tons of GHG emissionsiii since 2009.
In absolute terms, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from facilities increased by approximately 8 percent between 2009 and 2014, while efficiency improved by approximately 11 percent (GHGs/$ revenue) during the same time period. The efficiency improvement since the baseline year has helped Lake Region Medical to avoid approximately $1 million in electricity costs and 5,600 metric tons of GHG emissionsiii since 2009. | ||||||
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ESTIMATED RESULTS | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | TOTAL |
Avoided GHGs (metric tons) | 800 | 1,800 | 600 | -20 | 2,400 | 5,600 |
Avoided costs | $146,000 | $328,000 | $119,000 | -$3,000 | $449,000 | $1,039,000 |