ThyssenKrupp Celebrates Sustainability at Tennessee Factory’s LEED ® Gold Certification Event
On Tuesday, ThyssenKrupp Elevator celebrated the company’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was awarded to the elevator factory in Middleton, Tennessee. With almost 1,000 distinguished guests, company executives and employees in attendance, the event highlighted the companies continued commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates.
“Today we recognize the great accomplishment of our Americas team”, said ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG CEO, Andreas Schierenbeck. “We see investment in sustainability as an essential component of our future success. By achieving this LEED Gold certification, we are investing in our employee’s health and safety, in our community and in our partnership with the State of Tennessee.”
The event included factory tours highlighting major achievements of the LEED Gold certification, speeches and a luncheon for the plants’ 750 plus employees.
“ThyssenKrupp Elevator’s long history of excellence in sustainability, paired with a steadfast casino online dedication to employee health and safety, make it a worthy recipient of this prestigious certification,” said Lori Munkeboe, director of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of Sustainable Practices. “LEED Gold Certification cements ThyssenKrupp as a leader in Tennessee’s green economy and has set the standard for facilities looking to improve indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption statewide.”
Improvements made to the almost 50-year old factory include;
• The amount of outside air to ventilate the space was increased by over six million cubic meter per day.
• Upgrades to the HVAC system, the new building management system and ventilation as well as lighting improvements save more than 3,3 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year – enough to power all the homes in Middleton, Tennessee all year long.
• The integration of efficient bathroom fixtures and native plants which eliminated outdoor irrigation will save over 2,3 million liter of water annually.
• 97 percent of all waste generated at the facility is diverted from landfills.
“Several years ago we set goals to minimize our impacts on the environment, reduce waste and provide greener solutions to our customers,” said Rich Hussey, president and CEO of ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas. “Since then, over 150 of our employees have passed the LEED Green Associates exam; we are transitioning our service fleet to alternative fuel and high efficiency vehicles and have received third-party confirmation that this facility produces among the most energy efficient elevators in North America.”
To produce sustainable products in a sustainable way is a strategic priority on the research agenda of ThyssenKrupp. The group of companies focuses on resource efficient processes, intelligent systems for energy storage, sustainable mobility, as well as innovative solutions for the transition from fossil to renewable energy. ThyssenKrupp is also running an ambitious energy efficiency programme to further improve its own production processes.
