Seeing the light: Conserving energy one bulb, action at a time
ENERGY STAR honors Boeing for the 13th time with award for energy reduction efforts.
A before-and-after view of the lighting upgrade at the Developmental Center in Tukwila. This efficiency improvement was conducted under an Energy Performance Contract and is helping the site reduce energy use by 14% from a 2019 baseline, the biggest rebat
Boeing’s energy conservation practices and industry collaboration have once again been recognized with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award, Sustained Excellence category.
The award is the highest honor given by the EPA in appreciation for Boeing’s environmental stewardship and leadership, achieving an 11% energy use reduction even with an 18% production increase during 2023. ENERGY STAR programs and resources serve as guidelines for Boeing’s energy conservation efforts.
“It’s a true Boeing team effort, along with our ENERGY STAR partners, to further reduce energy use across our sites,” said Jeff Doan, director, Global Enterprise Sustainability. “We’re on a path of continuous improvement with plans to reach a 100% supply of renewable electricity and an additional energy-reduction goal by 2030.”
Last year, Boeing again held the Battle of the Buildings, a friendly competition inspired by ENERGY STAR, to reduce energy use enterprisewide. Employees registered more than 1 million actions across 189 Boeing sites in 28 countries. It resulted in the reduction of carbon emissions equivalent to 12.3 million miles (19.8 million kilometers) not driven by a vehicle, or to 1.25 million kilowatts, enough to power 113 average homes per year.
Energy reduction was linked to compensation incentives for many employees as the climate goal component of the company’s operation performance goals. For 2023, eligible employees benefited as Boeing reached its maximum reduction target.
LED retrofit
Boeing Puget Sound sites have taken on several retrofit lighting projects, replacing metal halide lights in factory, office- and mixed-use areas with energy-efficient LED lights.
At Seattle’s Developmental Center and Thompson Sites, 21,000 fixtures were changed in less than 12 months without impacting production, said Spiro Xenos, principal for energy conservation for Global Sustainability. It resulted in a 10 million-kilowatt reduction in electricity and more than $1 million in savings to the company, year over year. In addition, Boeing received a $1.2 million utility rebate from Seattle City Light.
“Those produced enough savings to power 2,100 average U.S. homes per year,” Xenos said. “The retrofit not only enhances safety, lighting quality and reduces fatigue and eye strain, but aligns our facilities with current Boeing lighting standards. It is also the largest contiguous lighting project for the company.”
In Everett, more than 6,000 lightbulbs have been replaced with LED lights in the factory high bay since 2017, when the 777X program kick-started the upgrade.
“It was dark enough in the 40-26 high bay that people would ask me when the upgrade would be done,” said John Hall, Everett Global Real Estate and Facilities project manager/construction manager.
“Everett is the largest consumer of energy in the enterprise,” said Stephanie Leeper, Everett energy and conservation specialist. “This project will reduce over 15 million kilowatts annually, helping the company reach its 10% energy reduction goal by 2025.”
By Mick Boroughs
