WICHITA, Kan., March 29, 2024 /CSRwire/ - For the fourth year in a row, and fifth time overall, Koch Industries (“Koch”) was recognized as an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2024 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Energy Management, as well as its third consecutive year in the Sustained Excellence category. The award demonstrates Koch employees' longstanding commitment to stewardship.

In earning the recognition, Koch companies had five facilities identified as Certified Plants, two tapped as completing Top Projects, and one achieved Challenge for Industry status.

“All of us here at Koch are proud to again be named an EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year," said Sheryl Corrigan, Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety at Koch Industries. “This award is a testament to all the great work that is happening every day across Koch companies. Our employees continue to demonstrate that a focus on energy management leads to meaningful improvements—from small to large-scale—that contribute to sustained results for us, for our partners, and for the environment.”

The award recognizes corporate energy management programs that perform at a superior level, demonstrate best practices across the organization and prove companywide energy savings. In addition, Koch's status in the Sustained Excellence category, the highest honor bestowed by the EPA, requires the company to continue to surpass achievements made in previous years.

In its 2024 application, Koch touted several facilities and projects where employee-enabled results earned specific EPA certifications and recognitions including:

Certified Plants 

In the U.S., EPA uses a benchmarking tool called Energy Performance Indicators (EPI) to measure a plant’s energy performance and compare it to that of similar plants nationwide, generating an ENERGY STAR score on a scale of 1 to 100. Manufacturing plants must achieve an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher to earn Certified Plant status.

• Pine Bend in Rosemount, Minnesota (Flint Hills Resources)
• Brewton in Brewton, Alabama (Georgia-Pacific)
• Leaf River in New Augusta, Mississippi (Georgia-Pacific) 
• Beatrice in Beatrice, Nebraska (Koch Ag & Energy Solutions)
• Enid in Enid, Oklahoma (Koch Ag & Energy Solutions)

Top Projects

These projects have been recognized by fellow EPA partners as reducing energy intensity in business operations.

• Enid (Koch Ag & Energy Solutions): An upgrade to Koch Fertilizer’s Enid facility steam traps, which are crucial for reducing the amount of natural gas and water needed in facility processes, saved the site more than $350,000 a year and reduced CO2 emissions by more than 7,000 tons.
• Naheola (Georgia-Pacific): As part of ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce corrosion in Koch manufacturing assets, Georgia-Pacific's Naheola paper mill in Pennington, Alabama, deployed HPC ceramic insulation spray on its digester and reduced heat loss by 49% and saved the facility an estimated $332,000 in energy costs annually.

Challenge for Industry

The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is a call to action for industrial sites to reduce their energy intensity by 10% within five years.

• Crossett Mill in Crossett, Arkansas (Georgia-Pacific)

In the U.S., since 2014, the company has reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 17% (more than 4.5 million metric tons of CO2e), cut production-related waste generated at our U.S. facilities by 40% and invested $2.2B in energy efficiency projects at those facilities.

The company’s perspective on environmental stewardship and energy use is guided by its Vision to provide products customers prefer over their alternatives while using fewer resources and the Koch Stewardship Framework, which encompasses the responsible management of company actions and the resources entrusted to it in a manner that respects the rights of others.

To learn more about Koch’s stewardship approach, visit: KOCHind.com/Stewardship.

About Koch Industries, Inc.

Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the largest private companies in America, with annual revenues as high as $125 billion. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in manufacturing, agriculture, pulp and paper, packaging, consumer products, building materials, glass, automotive components, refining, renewable energy, chemicals and polymers, electronics, enterprise software, data analytics, medical products, engineered technology, project services, recycling, supply chain and logistics, global commodities trading, and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested more than $150 billion in growth and improvements. With a presence in about 60 countries, Koch companies employ more than 120,000 people worldwide, with about half of those in the United States. For more news and information, visit www.KOCHind.com.

Koch Industries

Koch Industries

Creating value. Transforming life.

Our life’s work is to help people improve their lives by making and innovating products and services our customers value. Our focus is on delivering mutual benefit: Win-win outcomes that make life better for customers and employees alike.

Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries is one of the largest private companies in America. A diverse set of businesses and industries across the world, we work together to keep improving and exploring new ways to make life even better.

Koch companies are involved in manufacturing, agriculture, pulp and paper, packaging, consumer products, building materials, glass, automotive components, refining, renewable energy, chemicals and polymers, electronics, enterprise software, data analytics, medical products, engineered technology, project services, recycling, supply chain and logistics, global commodities trading, and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested more than $150 billion in growth and improvements. With a presence in about 60 countries, Koch companies employ more than 120,000 people worldwide, with about half of those in the United States.

Stewardship in all we do.

Our approach to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) is different than most. We believe in people and seek a system of equal rights and mutual benefit where individuals succeed by helping others succeed – and where people are empowered to improve their lives and their communities. It’s why we focus on empowering individuals to improve their lives and communities through bottom-up solutions rather than top-down imperatives.

Environmental Stewardship

Consuming fewer resources, minimizing waste and constantly innovating to improve our manufacturing processes and performance is essential to the way we do business – benefiting our customers, employees, investors, communities and planet.

Five environmental stewardship priorities.

With more than 300 manufacturing sites across the United States – and about 100 more globally – we’re one of America’s largest manufacturers. Every day, across those sites, we strive to create more value, using fewer resources than the day before. We do it through constant improvement and innovation – both in the products we make and how we make them, and by managing our resources in a way that benefits our customers, employees, partners, community members and society.

• Innovation
• Energy Efficiency
• Air Quality
• Water
• Responsible Resource Management

Social Stewardship

Philanthropy. Health and safety. Diversity and inclusion. Meaningful, rewarding careers and community outreach. These are just some of the vital priorities of social stewardship that empower each of our employees to develop, contribute, self-actualize and create value for the world while supporting communities in which we live.

Governance

Our management framework, Principle Based Management™, is based on proven principles of human progress and a deep appreciation for the dignity of every individual. Our private ownership, shared Vision, Values, compliance standards and oversight all help us focus on long-term value creation.

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