Merck Receives 2014 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award From U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Merck News Release:

Merck Receives 2014 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award From U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Company Receives EPA Honor for Ninth Consecutive Year

Thursday, April 3, 2014 8:00 am EDT
Dateline:
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.

"We are using greener sources of energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our partnership with ENERGY STAR helps us focus on our main goal of reducing energy consumption. We believe the greenest kilowatt is the one not used."

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that it has received an ENERGY STAR 2014 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its continued improvement of energy performance and leadership in energy management in both the pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.

Merck has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 1995 and recognized by the EPA for nine consecutive years, twice as Partner of the Year and now a seventh time for Sustained Excellence.

“Managing energy well is consistent with Merck's philosophy of being a responsible company,” said Rodney Freeman, vice president, Global Facilities Management, Merck. “We are using greener sources of energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our partnership with ENERGY STAR helps us focus on our main goal of reducing energy consumption. We believe the greenest kilowatt is the one not used.”

The award recognizes four Merck manufacturing sites that have achieved ENERGY STAR rankings in the top 25 percent of pharmaceutical plant energy performance nationwide: Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Cleveland, Tenn., Las Piedras, Puerto Rico; and Elkhorn, Neb.

Also achieving certification this year were two buildings at Merck's corporate headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J., Merck’s office buildings in Upper Gwynedd, Pa., West Point, Pa., and for the first time, Cokesbury, N.J.

Additionally, four sites in Europe were recognized for meeting the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry by reducing their energy intensity by 10 percent over a five year period. The sites recognized are Heist, Belgium; Swords, Ireland; Cramlington, UK; and Mirabel, France.

“Merck has earned EPA’s highest ENERGY STAR award – the 2014 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award – because of its unwavering commitment to helping consumers become increasingly more energy efficient,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe.

For more information about Merck's ongoing environmental and energy conservation efforts, please visit www.merckresponsibility.com.



About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money, and help protect the environment for future generations. Nearly 20,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, and buildings. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).



About Merck

            Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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FBI Minneapolis Division Press Release:

Federal Jury Finds North Oaks Man Guilty of Defrauding Investors of $1.5 Million in Wind Energy Project

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeApril 02, 2014

District of Minnesota(612) 664-5600

MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court, a jury found a 52-year-old North Oaks man guilty of defrauding investors to persuade them to invest in a purported wind energy project. Instead of building the wind energy project, the defendant used the investors’ $1.5 million to pay for his personal expenses and his other wind energy projects. On April 1, 2014, following a six-day trial, the jury convicted Gregory Joseph Jaunich on five counts of mail fraud. Jaunich was indicted on July 16, 2013.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from October 2006 through January 2007, Jaunich solicited funds from individual investors and investor groups for the purchase of membership units in Averill Wind, a company Jaunich created to develop and operate a wind energy project in Clay County, Minnesota. To induce these investments, Jaunich made false material representations concerning the project’s status, including telling them that the project was closer to completion than what was actually the case. In addition, Jaunich failed to disclose that at the time he was soliciting investments in Averill Wind, he was under criminal investigation by federal law enforcement for fraudulently overbilling Xcel Energy for wind energy production.

From October 2006 through January 2007, Jaunich received more than $1.5 million from investors. Jaunich told investors that the funds would be used to develop, operate, and maintain the Averill project. Instead, Jaunich diverted almost all the funds to his own personal use to pay personal expenses and debts and to pay expenses and debts relating to other wind energy projects. To keep the scheme from being discovered, in April 2007 and June 2008, Jaunich mailed letters to the investors containing false information about the status of the Averill Project and the use of the investors’ money via the United States Postal Service.

For his crimes, Jaunich faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Svendsen and John Kokkinen.

To learn more on how to protect yourself from mail fraud, visit http://www.stopfraud.gov/protect-massmarket.html.

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At its Largest Truck Plant, Volvo Recognized for Leadership in Energy Efficiency

DOE News Release:

April 1, 2014

DUBLIN, Va. – Building on President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative and the Administration’s broader efforts to double energy productivity by 2030, the Department of Energy today recognized Volvo Group North America for its leadership in energy efficiency at the New River Valley assembly plant near Roanoke, Va. As a Better Buildings, Better Plants partner, the Volvo Group has already achieved 16 percent savings across its U.S. plants and continues working toward its goal of becoming 25 percent more energy efficient within ten years.

“Partners in the Better Buildings, Better Plants program, such as Volvo, are committing to real change – breaking through barriers to achieve greater energy efficiency and improving their bottom lines,” said Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency. “The investments made by partners through the Better Plants program are helping to cut energy waste, to increase the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and protect the environment.”

Volvo Trucks’ New River Valley assembly plant is the company’s largest truck manufacturing plant in the world, covering more than 1.6 million square feet. At the Volvo Trucks plant, energy efficiency has become part of the facility’s core business practices, with an energy team member reviewing and approving every purchase made by the plant. Volvo also asked employees to suggest energy efficiency projects and has committed to reinvesting the savings from these projects – about $1.2 million to date – into future efficiency efforts.

In 2012, the New River Valley facility was one of the first facilities in the U.S. to be certified under the Energy Department’s Superior Energy Performance program for facilities. The Superior Energy Performance program helps facilities establish energy baselines and savings goals, and provides certifications when facilities achieve significant savings. New River Valley achieved a 26 percent improvement in energy efficiency in three years. As a partner in the Better Buildings Industrial Superior Energy Performance Accelerator, the Volvo Group is now implementing the Superior Energy Performance program at facilities nationwide. 

"Our partnership with the Department of Energy through the Better Buildings, Better Plants program has provided us with a goal we can rally our entire organization around," said Lars Blomberg, Vice President and General Manager of Volvo’s New River Valley plant. "At the same time, the Superior Energy Performance program is driving results at the plant-level to help us meet our company-wide goals.  We are fully engaged in these programs in support of our core value of environmental care and encourage our people to actively conserve energy for future generations.”

The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program is a national partnership initiative to drive significant improvements in energy efficiency across U.S. manufacturing plants. Through Better Plants, manufacturers partner with the Department of Energy to reduce their energy intensity by 25 percent over ten years, develop energy management plans, and track and report their annual progress. The Department works with each partner to establish key energy performance metrics, evaluate energy-saving opportunities, and organize plant-level training events.

Find more information about how the Better Buildings Initiative is helping partners like Volvo save money and energy at www.energy.gov/betterbuildings.

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