MBA Students Apply Frontline Academic Insights to Energy Reduction Projects
Swords, Ireland, October 27, 2011– Ingersoll-Rand plc (NYSE:IR), a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient environments, participated for the second consecutive year in the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps, a program aimed at helping companies reduce energy and carbon emissions. Through this work, Ingersoll Rand has identified potential savings of $1.6 million in energy costs.
The EDF Climate Corps puts top energy-focused MBA students to work at Fortune 1000 companies throughout the United States. This collaborative program gives students practical experience, enables companies to connect with and learn from universities on the forefront of research and technology, and helps EDF build a bridge between business and environmental interests.
Amogh Garg of the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University and Chris Hegge of the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University spent three months working at six Ingersoll Rand production facilities in the United States.
“Through the program, we identified potential savings of 5 million kilowatts of energy and 4,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions,” said Dave Sordi, senior manager of environmental engineering at Ingersoll Rand, who oversees the program.
“The EDF Climate Corps program is helping us reach our goal to reduce energy usage by 25 percent by 2019, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Save Energy Now Leader program,” said W. Scott Tew, executive director, Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability at Ingersoll Rand. “The expertise, dedication, and insights the EDF fellows brought to us were outstanding.”
We strongly support this program due to the extensive knowledge-sharing opportunities that Climate Corps affords our business, and because we support the EDF on the shared aim of helping businesses be more competitive while becoming more energy efficient.”
Summary of Projects
The participating facilities located in Charlotte, N.C.; Augusta, Ga; Columbia, S.C.; Princeton, Ill; and Minneapolis, Minn. represented a broad spectrum of product lines. As part of Ingersoll Rand’s expanded energy audit program, the fellows tackled projects primarily focused on HVAC, compressed air systems, process heating and other manufacturing processes.
Garg created an energy analysis tool that expedites the auditing process by making quick calculations that are often required during energy audits. Garg also evaluated several external energy-efficiency certification programs including the Superior Energy Performance certification program and recommended next steps for certification.
Building on the success of the 2010 EDF Climate Corps program at Ingersoll Rand, Hegge performed facility benchmarking based on an extensive list of equipment standards compiled by previous EDF fellows.
About the EDF Climate Corps
According to EDF, since the program began, Climate Corps fellows have uncovered energy efficiency opportunities equal to cutting 1.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity use and 27 million therms of natural gas annually, equivalent to the annual energy use of 88,000 homes. To date, companies report that projects representing 86 percent of the energy savings identified by EDF Climate Corps fellows are complete or underway. (Source: http://edfclimatecorps.org/results-data)
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About Ingersoll Rand
Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) is a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient environments in commercial, residential and industrial markets. Our people and our family of brands - including Club Car®, Ingersoll Rand®, Schlage®, Thermo King® and Trane® - work together to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings, transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and increase industrial productivity and efficiency. The Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability at Ingersoll Rand is a global group of experts dedicated to integrating best practices for the long-term use of energy and other resources. Ingersoll Rand is a $14 billion global business committed to sustainable business practices within our company and for our customers. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com
Contact:
Christopher Tessier
(704) 877-7216
Christopher.tessier@irco.com