US poultry vaccine site receives carbon neutrality certification
It's the company's first US site to earn the designation
16 May 2022
3 minute read
By: Boehringer Ingelheim US Animal Health announced that its poultry vaccine site in Gainesville, Georgia, has received carbon neutral certification, the first of its US sites to earn this designation. The site, which produces nearly 60 billion poultry vaccines every year, is Boehringer Ingelheim’s first major manufacturing facility site in the US and its third site globally to become carbon neutral.
“Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to making the company, surrounding communities, and the world more environmentally sustainable, now and for future generations,” said Randolph Legg, president and head of commercial business at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc.
“Our Gainesville site’s achievement inspires our entire worldwide team as we make progress toward our goal to become carbon neutral in all company operations by 2030," he added.
The Gainesville site has been working toward more sustainable operations since 2017, when they noticed emissions were equal to more than 1,000 homes. Electricity is one of the biggest emission producers onsite, so the site team purchased green electricity from Georgia Power to help power the site in a more sustainable way and eliminate nearly 80% of carbon emissions.
To reach carbon neutrality status, the site team made additional changes that included installing solar panels, replacing fluorescent lightbulbs with LED bulbs, and installing dummer switches and occupancy sensors for lighting. They also purchased an electric vehicle for use around the site and installed a charging station, and installed smart meters to measure electricity consumption. Finally, they replaced insulation on equipment to reduce heat and energy loss.
To offset the few remaining carbon emissions, the company purchased environmental project carbon credits from Climate Seed. Employees at the site chose to invest in the Noles South Avoided Conversion Forest Project in North Carolina and a reforestation project in Kasigau Corridor in Kenya.
With these changes, the company contracted with Germany‐based TÜV, an independent third‐party certification services company, to review and certify the site for carbon neutrality. The company received the carbon neutrality certification on 11 April. The certification process confirms that the site has reduced and offset greenhouse gas emissions for 2021. The certification must be reviewed annually and is based on the previous year’s emissions.
“We are excited that the updates we’ve implemented at this facility and the support from our employees have earned us the certification for carbon neutrality,” said Andy Brehm, Site Director at the Boehringer Ingelheim Gainesville facility. “It’s important to us and everyone at the site that we work toward a more sustainable future, for our communities and the people and animals we serve.”
"This move to carbon neutrality helps protect the environment we live in,” said Lara Sheeley, head of the US swine and poultry divisions at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. "And when the environment is healthy, people and animals are healthier."
