The St. Marys Cement Inc. plant in Bowmanville, Ontario, has been recognized in the 2010 Cement Industry Energy and Environmental Awards, honouring sustainable manufacturing practices. The plant was a finalist in the Awards' Energy Efficiency category, which recognizes energy planning, applications of efficiency technologies and practices, and climate change mitigation efforts. This is the second straight year the plant has been honoured in this category.
The Bowmanville plant's Energy Management Conservation Committee (E=MC2) was established in 2006 to develop a program to reduce energy use at the plant. Since then, the plant has implemented 57 initiatives to reduce and/or save energy. Sixteen of these projects were realized in 2009, saving approximately US$516,000 in energy costs and reducing CO2 emissions by 5,685 tonnes.
In 2009, St Marys Cement's Bowmanville plant became the first North American industrial organization to receive Certification in Energy Excellence from 360 Energy, one of North America's leading energy service firms. Achieving certification requires facilities to demonstrate energy performance improvements over the past three years, and to adopt best practices that will continue improving their energy efficiency over the next three years.
"Energy management is critical to the sustainability of Canada's cement industry and manufacturers are highly motivated to maximize the energy efficiency of their operations," said Michael McSweeney, President and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada. "By doing so, plants decrease emissions and lower operational costs, which keeps the company a viable community employer."
The awards program was created in 2000 by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and is open to cement manufacturing plants in North America. PCA and Cement Americas magazine presented the first Cement Industry Environmental Awards in 2002. Judges for the 2010 awards represent independent groups, such as the World Resources Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, the National Ready Mix Concrete Association, U.S. EPA-ENERGY STAR, U.S. EPA-Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, the Cement Association of Canada, Cement Americas, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Cement and Concrete