For the tenth consecutive year, Mercury Marine has earned a Green Masters designation from the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council (WSBC). The council presented the award today during its two‑day annual conference, which is an online event this year. As it has done in the previous nine years, Mercury achieved a score within the top 20% of all applicants to earn the designation.
The Green Masters Program measures companies on a broad range of sustainability categories ranging from energy and water conservation to waste management, community outreach, and education. In addition, companies are evaluated in the contexts of transportation, supply chain, workforce, and governance.
“We are honored to earn a Green Masters designation for the tenth consecutive year. This is especially gratifying considering how the bar is raised every year, making each successive year’s designation an even greater accomplishment,” said Mercury Marine President Chris Drees.
WSBC’s Green Masters Program requires applicants to cite sustainable business practices and initiatives undertaken in the past year, and to show improvement over previous years.
In 2020, Mercury continued to expand its global efforts to improve the energy efficiency and eco‑friendliness of its manufacturing operations. Initiatives included modernization of HVAC and lighting systems, containment of compressed‑air systems, optimization of power on/off cycles for equipment and facilities, redirection of manufacturing‑generated heat for multiple purposes, and enhancement of facilities design to include natural lighting and passive heating. The company also expanded its recycling and reuse of materials and water used in manufacturing.
In the past year, the company manufactured engines that have better fuel efficiency and lower emissions than ever before. Thus, with each sale of a new Mercury engine to replace a prior‑generation engine, there is an improvement to the environment.
At the beginning of the year, employees at Mercury’s world headquarters in Fond du Lac, WI, participated in a series of LED lighting fairs, purchasing approximately 8,000 energy‑efficient LED bulbs for their homes. Collectively, their purchases resulted in an environmental improvement roughly equivalent to removing 76 cars from the road each year.
Shortly after, when the COVID‑19 pandemic struck in the US, Mercury rose to the challenge of engaging employees in sustainable activities while observing protocols to discourage the spread of the virus. The company provided advice on home‑office sustainability to the large proportion of employees who rapidly shifted their work location to their homes. Mercury also conducted a successful food‑drive and electronics‑recycling event, as well as an Adopt‑A‑Highway cleanup effort, with participants wearing face coverings and maintaining social distance.
Significantly, in 2020 Mercury also initiated plans to expand its commitment to derive more energy from renewable sources, thereby setting the stage for advancements in sustainability in 2021 and beyond.
See Mercury’s Sustainability Report and learn more about its sustainability initiatives by clicking here.