Corning achieves a decade of distinction as ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year
Global teams exemplify how effective energy management contributes to progress and sustained growth in the industrial sector.
Collaboration across the enterprise is key to Corning’s energy management success. Here, Adedoyin Oyelaran and Tom Capek discuss greenhouse gas reductions.
Corning has been named an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year (PoY) in the industrial category for the 10th consecutive year, a distinction only 10 companies have achieved in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR program.
“We are on an ongoing quest to make customers and the company more competitive and to support healthier communities around the world,” said Tom Capek, senior vice president and chief engineer. “A decade of recognition from the ENERGY STAR program demonstrates Corning’s commitment to our global efforts to increase energy efficiency and to support our mission of continuously improving reliability, efficiency, and productivity.”
Corning also achieved the EPA’s Sustained Excellence designation for the eighth consecutive year. The EPA presents the Sustained Excellence award to partners that have received an ENERGY STAR PoY recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and that have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition.
“Our teams have continued to strive for greater levels of efficiency, pushing the boundaries and identifying new executions to improve results,” said Patrick Jackson, director, Global Energy Management (GEM). “The unwavering dedication of our energy management teams, in collaboration with teams across business segments, allows Corning to reach new heights in our sustainability journey.”
Corning launched the GEM program in 2006 to create and execute effective energy strategies. At that time, energy management was a new concept for many large manufacturers. The administration of New York’s then governor, George E. Pataki, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority provided initial funding for Corning to launch its GEM program, recognizing Corning’s pioneering efforts.
Today, GEM has grown to include energy teams at every Corning facility around the world who are working to increase efficiency and sustainability across the enterprise.
Corning’s Marah McCauley, Allison Draper, Hannah Baghdadi, and Kayla Foxen help drive sustainability projects across the company.
The ENERGY STAR program has accelerated Corning’s progress.
“Having an outside entity assess how well Corning is doing on not only our goals but across industry objectives helps keep our teams focused and provides unbiased feedback, so we can make changes to our energy management program,” said Bruce Hostrander, division energy manager and senior project management associate. “The partnership between ENERGY STAR and Corning means that we share the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and continue to bring value to our customers in the products that we manufacture.”
Smarter energy practices are now baked into Corning’s DNA, setting up teams to succeed across myriad new projects.
“What drives our approach to sustainability is the idea that we can make a difference,” said Mark Steen, vice president of sustainability and climate initiatives. “Our tenth consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award speaks to the difference we’ve made by investing in progress—increasing our energy efficiency over the past decade while meeting our customers’ needs and advancing our sustainability efforts well into the future.”
Within the U.S. manufacturing sector, Corning ranks fourth for corporate solar energy use.
Among Corning’s achievements reflected in the ENERGY STAR award:
2022
Committed to increasing its use of renewable energy by 400% by 2030 (compared to a 2018 baseline). Corning is currently on a path toward 100% renewable electricity in the next few years in the U.S. and Europe.
2021
Ranked among the top 25 corporate solar users in the U.S. by the Solar Energy Industries Association. Corning also achieved a 10.9% energy productivity improvement.
2020
Received “top project” recognition from ENERGY STAR partners for Corning's Project Clean Water, initiated at the Optical Fiber and Cable Hickory Manufacturing and Technology Center in North Carolina.
2019
Achieved energy savings and productivity improvements equivalent to 108,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas avoidance, or the annual power use of 11,662 homes.
Corning's Diesel facility in Erwin, New York is one of four sites participating in its natural gas-to-electrification project.
2018
Surpassed GEM’s original mission and refreshed its strategy to: “Corning will innovate and be responsible users of energy, water, and other natural resources…We will continuously improve reliability, efficiency, and productivity in our quest to make customers and the company more competitive, and to support healthier communities.”
2017
Held first ENERGY STAR Treasure Hunt – an event seeking ways to improve energy efficiency – at the Corning Advanced Optics plant in Canton, New York.
2016
Hosted an energy symposium to meet a Clinton Global Initiative commitment and shared best practices and successes.
2015
Achieved a 3.41% corporate energy productivity improvement during the reporting period August 2013 to July 2014, accomplishing a 29.44% improvement over its baseline year of 2007-08 through process improvements and facility projects.
2014
Signed a pledge with the Clinton Global Initiative to spend $25 million to improve energy efficiency by an additional 15% by 2020.
