Washington D.C. – The American Bakers Association crossed a milestone reporting today that 104 bakeries are taking the EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge®. ENERGY STAR® is a voluntary government program administered by the U.S. EPA that works with businesses to promote energy efficiency. Bakers that take the ENERGY STAR® Challenge for Industry pledge to reduce a manufacturing site’s energy intensity by 10 percent within five years or less.
“By reducing energy intensity, these plants will minimize their environmental footprint.” said Rasma Zvaners, American Bakers Association Policy Director. “The baking industry is embracing this program and is the second most active sector for the ENERGY STAR program. This is a notable achievement for our industry,” Zvaners said.
If these bakeries together reduce their energy intensity and use by 10% it could help prevent over 60,000 metric tons of CO2e and save over 768,000 million BTUs of energy. This is equivalent to:
- Eliminating the emissions from over 14,500 passenger vehicles; or
- Enough energy to power just over 6200 homes for a year;
- Building 19 wind turbines
- Changing 1.8 million incandescent light bulbs to CFLs
About the American Bakers Association:
The American Bakers Association (ABA) is the Washington D.C.-based voice of the wholesale baking industry. Since 1897, ABA has represented the interests of bakers before the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and international regulatory authorities. ABA advocates on behalf of more than 700 baking facilities and baking company suppliers. ABA members produce bread, rolls, crackers, bagels, sweet goods, tortillas and many other wholesome, nutritious, baked products for America’s families. The baking industry generates more than $102 billion in economic activity annually and employs more than 706,000 highly skilled people.
Source: American Bakers Association