Honda Transmission Mfg. of America, Inc. (HTM) is no stranger to environmental firsts. In 2014, the facility in Russells Point, Ohio became the first major automotive manufacturing plant in the United States to derive a substantial amount of its electricity directly from wind turbines located on its property.

Now, just five years later, HTM is the first U.S. automotive transmission plant to earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification. Along with the energy benefit of getting more than 10 percent of its power from the two 1.7MW turbines on its property, HTM increased its energy efficiency by implementing a robust utility scheduling and monitoring program. This program allows for detailed tracking of energy use and enhanced scheduling of lighting, HVAC units, compressed air valves, and chillers.

Through the commitment of its associates, HTM has been also able to reduce energy through strong non-production energy reduction procedures. “At Honda Transmission Mfg, environmental stewardship is one of our core characteristics,” said HTM vice-president Scott Henderson. “Our management team, led by Ryan Eberhart, and our associates make energy efficiency a major focus of their daily activities. We take pride in all of our environmental programs, but being the first transmission facility in the U.S. to earn EPA ENERGY STAR certification is a great achievement for our associates.”

The 1.1-million square-foot Honda Transmission Mfg. of America, Inc. plant produces more than 850,000 transmissions per year as well as gear sets and transfer cases and differentials for four-wheel drive vehicles. The EPA established new ENERGY STAR guidelines for facilities such as Honda’s transmission plant for 2019, and HTM quickly earned the certification through the EPA’s early-registration period.

The ENERGY STAR award signifies that the plant performs in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide, based on weather-normalized source energy performance. ENERGY STAR is the only energy-efficiency certification in the U.S. based on verified energy performance.

EPA introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Industrial Facilities: energystar.gov/plants