Bob Perciasepe, US EPA

"We need to develop the demand for innovation, and EPA can't do it alone," said Perciasepe.   "Partnership creation is essential to EPA's future.  Together, we need to get out of our silos, develop tools and information resources and education to empower partnerships," he said. 

Mr. Perciasepe made his remarks before 140+ participants at SP's 1st Quarter Membership Meeting, held at the GM Renaissance Center.  The meeting was sponsored by Midbrook Industrial Washers, Inc. (MIWI), whose CEO, Bruce Davis, provided a special welcome and introduction to his company.

SP Vice-Chair Russell Brynolf of FTS Technologies introduced a series of SP Project reports, led off by Paul Spelman of Universal Fibers who discussed water conservation and solutions on behalf of SP's Water Efficiency Committee.  Next, Don Harris who has joined SP's Mexico initiative - Alianza Verde Automotriz (AVA) - as program manager discussed the growth of the industry in Mexico, and opportunities for AVA.  Sylvia Gucken of Ideal Group and Christopher Lara of Detroit Cristo Rey then joined SP Material Efficiency Chair - John Bradburn of GM - to provide an update on the Cadillac Urban Gardens project. Finally, Dean Louay Chamra of Oakland University joined SP's Technology Co-Chair David O'Ryan to announce the 2014 SP Summit on Accelerating Innovation to be held at Oakland University September 23-24.

Participants at Jan. 15 SP Meeting

SP members Dan Wohletz of Henkel and John Mirsky from Bosch delivered presentations on their respective companies' sustainability programs, and Gary Anderson of Keystone Powdered Metals discussed his experience with the E3 Program.

During the afternoon session, SP Executive Director Steve Hellem moderated a panel discussion with representatives of four SP OEM members focusing on how they integrate energy, carbon and water management into corporate business strategy. 

        

Pictured: John Mirsky, Bosch; Panel: (L-R) Larry Merritt, Ford; Anthony Davis and Al Hildreth, GM; Karen Heyob, Honda; Pete Hadad, Chrysler

Pete Hadad said supply chain sustainability management is a critical element of Chrysler's World Class Manufacturing standard.  Al Hildreth of GM stated that integrating energy into your business plan makes it a sustainable part of your operations, adding that the best way to control carbon is by energy efficiency.

SP Members Tour NAIAS with US EPA Liaisons

Larry Merritt said that Ford has adopted a holistic approach to reducing the overall environmental impact of manufacturing operations, providing a consistent foundation for environmental improvement and allowing for detailed strategies by topic.  Karen Heyob added that Honda gets many great sustainability ideas directly from the plant floor associates, and it is key to engage all associates to learn, grow and develop practical solutions for continuous environmental improvement.

Following the meeting, Mr. Perciasepe, Matt Bogoshian, and Tom Murray of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention had the opportunity to explore innovative technologies on display at the North American International Auto Show, guided by SP member company representatives from Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda and Hyundai.

Additional information, and presentations from the meeting are available on SP's Members Only website.

 

• Henkel
• InStream Environmental
• Midbrook Industrial Washers Inc. (MIWI)
• Robert Bosch
• Prime Woodcraft

Jim Laney, DENSO International America, Inc. 

SP Membership Chair

With its new start-stop coasting function, Bosch enables drivers of vehicles with combustion engines to travel in zero-emission, noise-free, and low-resistance mode over large parts of their journey. This innovative technology stops the engine when the vehicle is in motion, so that it does not consume any fuel. Whenever the vehicle can maintain its speed simply by rolling - for instance on a gentle decline - the engine is stopped. As soon as the driver touches the gas or brake pedal, the engine starts up again. More Information.

Siluria Technologies and Braskem have formed a broad-ranging collaboration around the deployment of Siluria's proprietary oxidative coupling of methane, or "OCM" technology for the direct conversion of methane in natural gas to ethylene. Under the collaboration, Siluria and Braskem will jointly explore commercial deployment of Siluria's technology for supplying ethylene to Braskem.  In particular, the two companies will conduct a joint feasibility study to identify commercial deployment opportunities of Siluria's technology at Braskem's ethylene consuming plants.  More Information.

Braskem and Genomatica have signed an agreement for the joint development of a new technology for the production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks. Through this partnership, Braskem reaffirms its commitment to invest in the research of producing chemicals from renewable feedstocks, effectively strengthening its leadership role in this segment. Braskem's objective with green butadiene is to primarily serve the synthetic rubber market, whose demand is currently met by naphtha-based butadiene, of which the company is already the world's third-largest producer.  More Information. 

Chrysler Group and the UAW rolled out the red carpet for the Company's high achievers in manufacturing at the first-ever World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Academy Awards ceremony held at the UAW-Chrysler Technology Training Center in Warren, Mich. Chrysler Group's Vice President of Manufacturing Mauro Pino and the UAW's Vice President of the Chrysler Department General Holiefield hosted the event for more than 500 attendees, including award nominees from 26 facilities in the U.S. and Canada. More Information. 

Covanta and Turning Earth, LLC an integrated organics recycling company, announced a new partnership to provide organics recycling to Connecticut municipalities and businesses.  The 10-year agreement calls for Turning Earth to build, own and operate an integrated organics recycling facility in central Connecticut to which Covanta will divert organic waste for beneficial reuse in partnership with municipalities and commercial customers.  Covanta and Turning Earth will explore future opportunities in the Connecticut and Massachusetts region. More Information.

Global automotive supplier DENSO has developed a new automotive climate control unit that can be used for a wide variety of vehicles ranging from compact to luxury cars. Conventional climate control units are often designed and tailored to each vehicle model, but this product has a new structure which enabled to standardize components while realizing required performance. This highly standardized automotive climate control unit, which is smaller and lighter while realizing higher performance, is the world's first of its kind. More Information.

Hino Motors, Ltd. (Hino) and DENSO Corporation (DENSO) have jointly developed the world's first electric refrigerator system for heavy-duty trucks using a hybrid unit. With the combination of Hino's hybrid powertrain system technology and DENSO's electric refrigerator system technology, the two companies have developed a high-quality refrigerator system that helps improve fuel economy, improves refrigeration performance, and is quieter when operating. More Information.  

Federal-Mogul Corporation's Powertrain Segment has developed an innovative, highly optimized casting process for piston rings that will provide to engine manufacturers higher quality and stronger, more wear-resistant piston rings. The process uses a highly automated vertical molding process that delivers enhanced material integrity and improved manufacturing process control. Additionally, Federal-Mogul has developed a new casting simulation process that provides more precise data in order to optimize the material flow, pressure and filling of the piston ring casting molds. More Information.

Ford and its Tier 1 suppliers awarded $10.4 million in contracts to Michigan-based companies through the 2013 Pure Michigan Business Connect Ford Matchmaking Summit. Ford hosted the summit in March 2013 with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with the Detroit Regional Chamber. Ford, the first OEM to host the summit, used the event to connect more than 300 qualified Michigan suppliers with 12 of the company's purchasing teams and 30 of its Tier 1 suppliers. More Information. 

Ford Motor Company is piloting new software from Siemens that facilitates virtual navigation within its assembly plants, helping the company improve global collaboration and better share best practices. The new IntoSite™ application in the Tecnomatix® portfolio is a cloud-based web application developed using the Google Earth infrastructure. IntoSite holds a 3D version of assembly plants and allows users to navigate virtually through the plants - down to the workstations - obtaining a better understanding of global processes. IntoSite was developed by Siemens' product lifecycle management (PLM) software business unit. More Information. 

General Motors announced a $24-million investment in electrical generation equipment that will allow the company to use more landfill gas at its Fort Wayne, Ind., and Orion, Mich., assembly plants. The new equipment will generate more than 14 megawatts of electricity from landfill gas, a renewable energy source, which will help GM avoid producing more than 89,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. That's equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 18,542 passenger vehicles. GM also will save a combined $10 million in energy costs each year at the facilities. More Information. 

Perseverance and creativity enabled a 75-year old General Motors manufacturing facility here to go landfill-free. The journey took four years and included seven attempts to recycle a challenging oily filter sludge generated from a machining operation. GM supplier Mobile Fluid Recovery helped the 1.8-million-square-foot facility solve its final roadblock to achieve landfill-free status: separating a mucky mixture of metal, filter paper and oil produced by a machine that cuts metal for fuel injector and manifold components. More Information. 

Haley & Aldrich has been named in Trenchless Technology's "Top 50 Trenchless Design Firms," for the third year in a row. The engineering and environmental consulting firm attributes its consistent rankings to the firm's strategic focus on innovative application of cutting-edge technologies, as well as its commitment to design and helping clients manage risk. Haley & Aldrich has been a leader in trenchless technology since 2011. More Information.  

Honda Transmission Mfg. of America, Inc., has finalized installation and will begin operation of two power-producing wind turbines at its plant in Russells Point, Ohio, through an agreement with a subsidiary of ConEdison Solutions of Valhalla, NY. The two wind turbines will supply approximately 10 percent of the plant's electricity.  Based on their location and actual wind speeds, combined output from the two wind turbines is estimated at 10,000-megawatt hours (MWH) per year. More Information. 

For the eighth consecutive year, two of Honda's Ohio automobile manufacturing plants have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ENERGY STAR certification, while the company's auto plant in Greensburg, Ind. earned the designation for the second year in a row. The ENERGY STAR certification is given to facilities that perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and that also meet strict energy efficiency-performance levels set by the EPA. On average, ENERGY STAR certified plants consume 35 percent less energy and produce 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than similar non-certified operations. More Information.

Johnson Controls announced it will partner with Lawrence Technological University (LTU) in Southfield, Mich. to identify and validate new energy storage technologies within the total vehicle system. Johnson Controls will donate and install state-of-the-art test equipment and deploy technical resources to the university to propel academic and applied research into optimizing vehicle and battery design. More Information.

Johnson Controls announced Corporate Knights has again put the company on its 2014 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations Index. The Global 100 is an annual project and inclusion on the list is limited to a select group of the top 100 large-cap companies in the world. Companies named to the Global 100 are the top overall sustainability performers in their respective industrial sectors. More Information. 

Recognizing its 10 year anniversary, Nissan's Canton Assembly Plant issued a Corporate Responsibility Report providing a snapshot of the plant's efforts in 2013.  Since 2003, Nissan and its employees have contributed $8.8 million as part of its commitment to Central Mississippi. More Information.