On December 9, SP’s Chair Randy Leslie, Johnson Controls and SP member Kathleen Laird, Goodwill Green Works Inc. and SP liaison Tom Murray, EPA were speakers at the Department of Commerce’s Sustainable Manufacturing American Regional Tour (SMART): “Energy Efficient, Sustainable Detroit” that was held at DTE Energy’s offices in Detroit, MI. They were all part of a panel that discussed “Successes and Challenges in Industrial Energy Efficiency and Sustainability”.
Participants were welcomed to the event by Mary H. Saunders, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, Department of Commerce and Steven E. Kurmas, President and COO, DTE Energy.
Pictured: Tom Murray, EPA, speaking during Panel 1; From left to right: Mary Saunders, Dept. of Commerce, Tanya Mottley, EPA and Randy Leslie, JCI.
The event was designed to connect Detroit manufacturers to the federal government’s E3 (Economy, Energy, Environment) Initiative, a multi-agency effort aimed at helping U.S. manufacturers and utilities become more energy efficient, sustainable and competitive. The event offered the opportunity to showcase Detroit-area industrial energy efficiency and sustainability successes through company presentations and manufacturing facility tours.
The SMART Tour included a facility tour of SP member Goodwill’s Green Works Inc., an asset recovery operation for DTE Energy that also provides job skill training opportunities for Goodwill Detroit clients. Kathleen Laird, President, Green Works, Inc. and Al Ver, Chairman of the Board of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit welcomed the SMART Tour participants to Green Works.
Pictured: Al Ver, Goodwill, discusses Green Works with Mary Saunders, Dept. of Commerce, on his right
The participants also toured Bridgewater Interiors, LLC, a Johnson Controls joint venture that manufactures seat and overhead systems. Robert J. Lubitz, Bridgewater’s plant manager led tour participants — including Jim Jones, Deputy Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention — through the plant and highlighted ways that the facility is improving their environmental sustainability through energy efficient technologies and providing value to the business.
