Manufacturers cut 17 million metric tons of greenhouse emissions with help from EPA’s ENERGY STAR® program

Washington, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrates the 580 manufacturing plants that achieved the energy savings goals set out by EPA ten years ago to drive energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Through the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, manufacturing plants pledged to reduce energy intensity by 10% within five years. These 580 plants achieved nearly double this goal. CalPortland® is proud to announce 16 facilities have achieved the Challenge for Industry to date.

On average, plants that met this challenge reduced their energy intensity by 19% within an average of two years. More than 100 plants have taken and achieved the Challenge twice in a row, realizing reductions of more than 10 percent each time. CalPortland’s Duwamish Ready Mix Plant in Washington is among the plants achieving the Challenge twice in a row. The Duwamish plant reduced its energy intensity by 42% over the ten years of the program, avoiding 2,000 tons of CO2e annually. Together, the 580 plants participating in the ENERGY STAR Challenge have prevented more than 17 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere and saved more than $443 million in energy costs.

“Increasing energy efficiency in the industrial sector remains a critical pathway to addressing the climate crisis and is typically the most cost-effective action industrial plants can take,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Industrial plants that have met the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry have demonstrated the business case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through efficiency, and we encourage more companies to accept the challenge and help America transition to a clean energy economy.”

CalPortland’s 16 facilities achieving the Energy Star Challenge for Industry include:

• Arizona- Beardsley Ready Mix plant, Queen Creek Ready Mix plant, Swan Road Ready Mix plant

• California- El Segundo Ready Mix plant, LAX Ready Mix plant, Normandie Ready Mix plant, San Luis Obispo Ready Mix plant, Stockton Cement terminal

• Nevada- Las Vegas Cement terminal

• Oregon- Front Avenue Ready Mix plant, Santosh Aggregate plant, Troutdale Ready Mix plant

• Washington- Duwamish Ready Mix plant (Second Challenge Achieved), Longview Ready Mix plant, Woodland Ready Mix plant

• British Columbia, Canada- New Westminster Cement terminal

EPA works in partnership with manufacturers to accept the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry and pledge to reduce their plant’s energy intensity through improved energy management. As an element of the ENERGY STAR industrial program, the challenge drives energy savings in individual plants by motivating employees and raising the visibility of energy management activities, often through low- and no-cost operational measures. Since 2010, more than 150 manufacturing companies have taken the pledge on behalf of more than 1,800 manufacturing plants. Participating plants can be found in nearly every state and more than 60 countries around the world. Plants represent dozens of industrial sectors, including automobile manufacturing, paper milling, bread and roll bakeries, pharmaceuticals, cement, glass, electronics, and textiles.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including nearly 40% of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with EPA to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Together, since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses save 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs, and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions, all through voluntary action. Learn more about ENERGY STAR at energystar.gov/impacts. For state-by-state data on ENERGY STAR, see energystar.gov/statefacts

For more information on the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, visit: www.energystar.gov/industrychallenge

About CalPortland

CalPortland Company is a major producer of cement, ready mixed concrete, aggregates, concrete products and asphalt in the western United States and Canada. Founded in 1891 with the principle of providing unsurpassed quality, CalPortland remains a leader in the industry through its commitment to quality, safety, customer service, technical excellence and environmental leadership. The company maintains its headquarters in Glendora, California and operates in the Western U.S. and two Canadian Provinces. For more information about CalPortland Company, visit www.calportland.com

CONTACT: Tina McIntyre CalPortland Company 626-691-1907 tmcintyre@calportland.com